Basenji's vs Lions

[drew82]

Here are just a few links that talk about the pigmy's using them for lion hunting parties besides small game.... I just know the friend that told me about his trip to Africa said they had basenjis for to herd them and some for the take down also.

http://www.akc.org/content/entertainment/articles/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-basenji/ if you click the link it will take you to the animal planet dogs 101 about basenji's
http://www.caninest.com/basenji/

[tanza]

@drew82 Guess we will have to agree to disagree on the point of lion hunting

[DebraDownSouth]

Drew, animal planet dogs 101 is truly wrong so often I won't even watch them any longer.
AKC entertainment... ditto. Just yesterday they posted a video showing a woman coming home after being gone 7 months. No credit to owner, nada. I went looking. The real story was the woman got the dog at Mexican border, moved with it to Scotland, but then left the dog behind and moved back to the states. In the video, she did go for a visit, but with the dog's new owners. Anyway, those aren't reliable.

Caninest is a junk site, unprofessional writers without much expertise.

For example, um no...basenji are DESCENDANTS of ancient wolves: “One possibility is there may have been other wolf lineages that these dogs diverged from that then went extinct,” he says. “So now when you ask which wolves are dogs most closely related to, it’s none of these three because these are wolves that diverged in the recent past. It’s something more ancient that isn’t well represented by today’s wolves.”,

Caninest: >>Evidence of their domestication dates back long before the pyramids were built and they are thought to be the direct ancestor of the northern African prehistoric dog.<<

More silliness saying they are the ancestors of ancient breeds >>Because they are the natural ancestors of wild dogs they possess a reserved air that many domestic breeds don’t.<< Dear spirits, many dog breeds possess a reserved air.

Sigh >>A desert dog, their coat is very fine with no undercoat and they rarely shed. On the flip side, they can’t tolerate cold weather & need to live in a warm environment.<<
Yes, they do grow an undercoat in cold climates, and sorry, they can tolerate cold weather and do not have to live in a warm environment.

As for lions.. the African Project had the story of them being used to flush lions into human trap. I have found 3 pics online showing basenjis chasing a lion... and every forum they were in said photoshopped and explained how they could tell.

Perhaps Dr Jo or someone who has lived in africa around them could weigh in, but other than the one story on the african project, I have never read anyone personally claiming they were used for lion hunting.

[drew82]

All I know is Jack Shafer and Bob Mankey are a credible resource and wrote the book about how to raise and train basenji's. And even they talk about the hunting parties and the history as well as the successful ways to raise a basenji. As well as talk from the basenji university on the past and heritage. I just thought this would be a fun topic to talk about but it truly seems that at least in the text that there are many opinions that if not of the collective thoughts then itshe not accepted. Not sure how many posts I'll do from now on but it has been interesting ...

[Still_Waters_43]

We may be talking about domesticated learned behavior VS in the wild behavior. So, we can teach a B to sit on command, but I bet if you came across a B in the wild and said "sit" they would just tilt their hear sideways and give you that "huh?" look

So, did tribesmen train B's to flush out lions? probably! But I doubt they actually attacked a lion. My guy is scared by a plastic bag blowing in the wind! :-).

[drew82]

When I was growing up which was in the late 80s that is when I got to listen to stories about the basenji's from Africa my parents and grandparents had basenjis and so when the stories were told they never changed or got bigger into whoppers(fish tales) they stayed the same. Ive heard of them taking down hyenas and antelopes as well but it was always 2 parts to the hunts the flushing out and ended in Spears or flush out and a secondary unit of basenji's to take down a lion I don't know the full size but I know he had said it's part of a right of passage and if size was an issue look at the Tasmania devil and how it hunts and savages small doesn't mean weak. And by no means would I take my domestic pup on a hunt it's just the knowledge of knowing the raw potential and history of this breed...

[DebraDownSouth]

@drew82 You can talk about anything here, but on any public forum, folks are going to put in their 2 cents worth. Unless someone gets abusive or makes it personal, don't let it bother you!

What you label as "collective thoughts" is not so much people's opinions, but years of experience with the breed, knowing old breeders, knowing those personally who brought over dogs from the African Stock Project (the breeders here, NOT ME!!).

Jack Shafer and Bob Mankey's book is a generic dog book with a few basenji things thrown in. Written back in (first book) 1966 and new in 1990 before much internet, when pet stores were packed with such formula books on every breed to make money. I remember looking at about 6 of them and realizing that if you cut out a few pages, they all generally applied to all dogs. Bob Mankey was a breeder/handler, so I am not saying he isn't knowledgeable. Did he actually say he had seen them hunt lions? Or just that they were used to hunt lions, flush them out?

I suspect the 2 basenji taking down a lion is what caused the responses. Obviously there are stories of them used by humans to flush out lions.

As for Basenji University, I haven't read the site in a decade but went looking... I find nothing on hunting lions. Did I miss it?
https://www.basenji.org/BasenjiU/Owner/103History/103History.html

Anyway, just blow off responses you don't agree with. Whether they hunted lions or not, it's a debate topic, not serious. Don't take it personally. If someone gets abusive, trust me it won't be put up with.

[margiem]

I found this link on the Basenji African stock project. It says that in Gambia the dogs are used to lure the lions to the hunters.
https://www.basenji.org/african/macd6709.htm

[DebraDownSouth]

@margiem Thanks for posting the link! I thought I had posted that in my response about them.

[kjdonkers]

@margiem Interesting link! If true, the basenji helps in the lion hunt, by impersonating prey and not by being the hunter...