Pilot Raymond Steyn flew 15 African wild dogs to their new life in Mozambique in a light aircraft on Thursday


An entire pack of 15 African wild dogs slept through a 1,000 mile journey from South Africa to their new life in Mozambique on Thursday.

Lined up neatly next to one another, the family of canines were ideal passengers for the seven-hour journey.

The dog flight was organised by non-profit organisation, The Bateleurs Flying for the Environment in Africa, alongside partners the Endangered Wildlife Trust.

Pictured from left to right: Cole du Plessis, from Endangered Wildlife Trust, and vet Rowan Leeming. These two men, along with pilot Raymond Steyn (not pictured), delivered an entire pack of 15 endangered African wild dogs to their new life in Mozambique on Thursday

The plane flew the dogs over 1,000 miles from South Africa in the hope of repopulating an animal population decimated by Mozambique's 1977-1992 civil war

Pictured: One of the African wild dogs after being sedated before the flight. It's hoped the pack will help boost numbers of just over 6,000 animals across the whole of Africa

All passengers, flown by volunteer pilot Raymond Steyn, made it safely to their new home in Gorongosa National Park, in Mozambique, on Thursday.

The dogs are helping to re-establish a population wiped out during the 1977-1992 civil war, and it's hoped the pack will help boost numbers of just over 6,000 animals across the whole of Africa.

Zelda de Keijzer, from The Bateleurs, said there was a strong UK connection with the relocation, thanks to vital support from the Tusk Trust and Rufford Foundation.

Pic shows the rare African wild dogs being sedated and prepped for the flight. All passengers made it safely to their new home in Gorongosa National Park, in Mozambique, on Thursday

Pic shows two of the passengers after they arrived safely in Mozambique. With the abundance of plant-eaters in the country, the land is rich for carnivores to return to

She said: 'Wildlife is now thriving in Gorongosa, with numbers of species and animals having made a strong comeback. With the abundance of herbivores, the natural next step is the return of large carnivores.

'Wild dogs are one of the continent's most at-risk carnivores, and are listed by the IUCN as Endangered.

A pack of 14 wild dogs brought to the park last year by The Bateleurs successfully denned and had a litter of 28 pups

'Urgent action is required to save them, and a key conservation strategy is the reintroduction of packs into viable habitats where they once occurred.

'We work closely with the African Wild Dog Meta-Population Project managed by the Endangered Wildlife Trust and have transported more than 60 Wild Dogs with a 100 per cent safety and success rate.'

Before being released all the dogs were vaccinated and fitted with VHF and GPS collars to enable them to be monitored.

The Gorongosa National Park has been at the centre of conservation for Mozambique with both the government and the Carr Foundation helping restore the area.

A pack of 14 wild dogs brought to the park last year by The Bateleurs successfully denned and had a litter of 28 pups.

Cole du Plessis, Wild Dog Range Expansion Project Coordinator, from the Endangered Wildlife Trust, said: 'Following the great success of the wild dog pack introduced into Gorongosa last year, we are confident that this pack will also thrive and thereby boost population numbers and genetic diversity on the reserve.

'In terms of conservation impacts, this is of the highest. This valuable partnership that we share with the Bateleurs enables this great team to be primary role-players in saving one of the most endangered carnivores in Africa, and the ecosystem that the wild dogs form a part of'.

Since 1998 over 200 pilots have flown for The Bateleurs in more than 600 missions in 10 different countries for over 150 beneficiary organisations.