Page 11 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW - ISSUE 13

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 1 1

One can therefore say that hunting with sighthounds is rather a gentle hunt for the game,
because it can also escape. However, sick or otherwise weakened animals, or even young
animals, are caught. That is natural selection.

In Arrian we had found the first definition of a sighthound that was valid for centuries,
namely the ability to catch a hare in the run [2].

So when we look at the Sloughi in its capacity as a sighthound, we have to realise that it
does not only work in this last hunting sequence, as we have seen above with the Borzoi.

The hunt begins earlier, it starts with the arrival of the hunting party at the site where the
hunt is to take place. The hunting party consists of one or more hunters on foot and the
hounds. It can be arranged beforehand whether hares are to be hunted or whether foxes

or even jackals/Golden wolves are to be hunted. Depending on this, a choice may have to
be made as to which Sloughis are to be taken along on the hunt, the small short ones or
the long type. Or no preliminary considerations are made and no pre-selection is made.

Arrival at the hunting ground: the Sloughis were transported here by off-
road vehicle. Bensekrane, Algeria, 2010 © Mangelsdorf

There are two variants of dog packs in North Africa: firstly, the mixed pack with Bracken,
Rateros, Sloughi mongrels or other retrieving dogs and the Sloughis, which also take over
the last hunting sequence, but already cooperate with the other dogs in tracking down
the game. Secondly, the pure Sloughi pack, in which the Sloughis take over all the
different hunting sequences, i.e. tracking and tracking down the game and finally hunting
on sight. The Sloughi also shows “pointing”, that is, it indicates when it perceives the
game.