If you think this is far-fetched, hear me out and let me tell you about Seronera and Darius, the dominant pair in Apoka pack. These two have been running around the area centred around Dog Camp since 2013. We have In fact, Seronera was born in the area in 2012 into the very last of numerous Matthew’s pack litters. Our continuous genealogical records of the Matthews pack dating back to 2006 shows that they fragmented in 2013 after the death of the dominant male, Yolo. Seronera was only 9 months old at the time.She was part of a mixed-age group of sisters who stayed in their natal range awaiting a suitable group of new males. They connected with a group of 5 males; Porus, Darius, Cyrus, Xerxes and Gilgamesh, who we assumed were brothers, but who were previously unknown to us. They looked to be about 3 years old (a typical dispersal age for males). During that first year of the new ‘Apoka pack’, Porus and Ganges, Seronera’s older sister, were dominant and had a litter of pups. Seronera and Darius were subdominant adult pack members supporting their respective siblings in raising that first litter of pups. But this all changed late 2013 when Darius fought and won dominance over Porus, and in the next mating season, in early 2014, Seronera, not Ganges, was the dominant and breeding female. Since then, their dominance has been cemented and they have been the pillars of the pack. Over the next 5 years, they have produced 5 litters of pups, many dogs have died, and survivors have dispersed. All of Seronera’s sisters left to form another pack, Gilgamesh vanished, Porus and Xerxes died, after attempting to overthrow Darius in 2017, Cyrus vanished not long after that. In the meantime Seronera has given birth to 48 pups in 5 litters; 33 of these have survived and, so far, 16 of those have dispersed to carry their parental genes as far away as Zimbabwe. Still today, Apoka pack consists of Seronera and Darius, 9 two year olds from the 2017 and 8 yearlings from last year’s litter. Seronera and Darius are the only constant in 5 years of changing pack membership.

Spending time with the pack, the old couple truly stand out. – confident, capable parents surrounded by their children.Their bond is apparent, even from a distance. You never find them far apart,whether they are resting or moving – even when hunting. They have priority access at every kill, but relinquish the privilege when their pups are small by standing back to let the newest and most vulnerable members of the pack eat first. It’s true that sometimes dogs get separated whilst hunting, but Darius doesn’t rest until he is side by side with Seronera. If Seronera is resting in the shade and moves to a new, cooler bit of sand, Darius follows. He is often seen grooming her while the pack rests, or they lie sleeping nuzzled together out of the hot sun. If the youngsters in the pack are having a play by a waterhole, Seronera and Darius are watching over them. Sometimes they too chase and frolic with each other in the water- still young at heart, don’t let their age fool you. In the evening when the pack gets ready to move, when one goes, the other follows. If Seronera is out of Darius’ sight for more than a few minutes, you can see him get restless, looking for her until he spots her, then joins her and appears to relax.