Page 248 - Showsight December 2020

HISTORY OF THE
BOERBOEL
BY AMANDA VILJOEN HOPKINS
To start with, no evidence can be found of truly indigenous dogs in Southern Africa. The African Wild Dog is the only “dog” truly indigenous to Southern and Eastern
Africa. It is part of the wildlife in Africa with no connection to any domestic dog.
The following is a listing of dogs that we suspect to be con- tributors that formed the Boerboel.
The earliest evidence for the presence of a domestic dog in Southern Africa has been established by Dr. Ina Plug, Deputy Director of the Transvaal Museum, from remains found near the Botswana border. The remains of a Khoikhoi dog, known today as the Africanis, were dated to 570 AD.
“The African dog most often mentioned by authors as a
POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTOR TO THE GENE POOL
OF THE BOERBOEL
are the Khoikhoi or
Khoisan dogs.”
The African dog most often mentioned by authors as a poten- tial contributor to the gene pool of the Boerboel are the Khoikhoi or Khoisan dogs. The Khoikhoi migrated from the Great Lakes Region of Eastern Africa centuries ago and brought with them a dog of undistinguished appearance that is described as small-to- medium-sized, measuring about 45cm tall. They appear in various ancient rock art in Southern Africa.
The “Jan van Riebeeck Bullenbitjer” (1652) was mentioned on a ship’s manifesto upon departure from Holland, but not again on the off-loading manifesto. It is, therefore, unknown if the dog survived the journey. The juicy story is told that van Riebeeck was living in a castle or fort and, if the dog had survived, he would not have been able to establish the breed from behind the walls of this
246 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2020