The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), also called painted dog and Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. This species, known for its cooperative hunting and striking coat patterns, faces numerous threats, making it one of Africa's most endangered mammals.
Conservation Status
It is estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations. All are threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution, and outbreaks of disease.
Physical Characteristics
Adult African wild dogs are approximately the size of a Labrador retriever but slimmer and sinewier for their size. They weigh an average of 55 pounds. The African wild dog is the bulkiest and most solidly built of African canids. The species stands 60 to 75 cm (24 to 30 in) at the shoulders, measures 71 to 112 cm (28 to 44 in) in head-and-body length and has a tail length of 29 to 41 cm (11 to 16 in). Adults have a weight range of 18 to 36 kg (40 to 79 lb). On average, dogs from East Africa weigh around 20-25 kg (44-55 lb). By body mass, they are only outsized amongst other extant canids by the wolf species complex. Females are usually 3-7% smaller than males.
Painted dogs earn their name from their unique patchwork splotches of color. All have brindled coats of brown, black, khaki and white, and similar black facemasks and white-tipped tails. Each dog has distinctive patterning besides these common traits. Their mottled brown, black and white coloring is unique to each individual, like a human fingerprint.
Compared to members of the genus Canis, the African wild dog is comparatively lean and tall, with outsized ears and lacking dewclaws. African painted dogs are part of the Canidae family, along with wolves and coyotes. They have large, rounded ears, which give them excellent hearing and help keep them cool, and their long legs help with speed and endurance. Their rounded, oversized ears help them hear great distances.
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Painted dogs have a unique dental characteristic that distinguishes them from other canids: all of their teeth are sharp and designed for shearing, as opposed to being sharp and flattened like those of other canids. This allows dogs to quickly shred a carcass. They have extremely sharp teeth for shearing flesh, including unique, three-pronged knives called tricuspids. They’re also the only canids with four instead of five toes on their front paws. The middle two toepads are usually fused.
Habitat and Distribution
Historically, wild dogs were distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, from deserts to savannas. They were even once spotted on the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. They inhabit mostly savannas and arid zones, generally avoiding forested areas. Wild dogs are typically found in savanna, grassland and woodland. This preference is likely linked to its hunting habits, which require open areas that do not obstruct vision or impede pursuit. Their habitats range greatly, and they have even been observed at altitudes of 18,480 feet in the snow of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and in the heat of deserts. They travel through scrubland, woodland and montane areas in pursuit of prey.
Painted dogs used to be found in nearly 40 countries. They have disappeared from large parts of their original range, including most of West Africa, and their populations have been decimated. Most of their remaining strongholds are in Tanzania, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and South Sudan. It is rare in North Africa and mostly absent in West Africa, with the only potentially viable population occurring in Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park. It is occasionally sighted in other parts of Senegal, Guinea and Mali.
Social Structure and Behavior
African wild dogs are highly social, living in tightly-knit packs where the entire family pitches in to raise litters of pups. The African wild dog have strong social bonds, stronger than those of sympatric lions and spotted hyenas; thus, solitary living and hunting are extremely rare in the species. Packs are made up of mostly males, with a dominant breeding pair. The average pack size is five to 20 dogs. The species differs from most other social carnivorans in that males remain in the natal pack, while females disperse.
Wild dog packs generally comprise of five to six adults with their pups, including a dominant breeding pair. With litters averaging 10 pups and females capable of delivering up to 18, this could bring a pack to 50 members. This actually occurred in the mid-1990s at the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana-a pack of 46 dogs formed and were so formidable, that they almost chased away all of the other predators in the area.
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Males and females have separate dominance hierarchies, with the latter usually being led by the oldest female. Males may be led by the oldest male, but these can be supplanted by younger specimens. The dominant pair typically monopolises breeding. Dispersing females join other packs and evict some of the resident females related to the other pack members, thus preventing inbreeding and allowing the evicted individuals to find new packs of their own and breed.
Although arguably the most social canid, the species lacks the elaborate facial expressions and body language found in the wolf, likely because of the African wild dog's less hierarchical social structure. Wild dogs are incredibly vocal creatures. Chirps and squeaks reminiscent of bird calls are frequently heard when dogs greet each another. Agitated dogs will bark, and anxious pups sometimes give an owlish “hoo” call.
Painted dogs hold a ‘meet and greet’ ceremony every morning or after a siesta. This is believed to reinforce social bonds and prepare the pack for the hunt. On the whole, they are surprisingly non-aggressive; for example, they do not fight over food but instead beg to indicate their wish to eat. Adults will allow younger pack members to eat before them.
Packs of African wild dogs have a high ratio of males to females. This is a consequence of the males mostly staying with the pack whilst female offspring disperse and is supported by a changing sex-ratio in consecutive litters. Those born to maiden females contain a higher proportion of males, second litters are half and half and subsequent litters biased towards females with this trend increasing as females get older.
BBC Planet Earth: African Wild Dogs
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Hunting and Feeding Habits
The African wild dog is a specialized hunter of terrestrial ungulates, mostly hunting at dawn and dusk, but also displays diurnal activity. Along with cheetahs, wild dogs are the only African carnivores that primarily hunt during the day. They capture their prey by using stamina and cooperative hunting to exhaust them.
Packs normally hunt once a day, but will hunt more often if the group is large or if there are pups to be fed. Prey size also influences the number of hunts-a wildebeest obviously will satisfy more dogs than will a gazelle. African wild dogs adjust their hunting strategy to the particular prey species. They will rush at wildebeest to panic the herd and isolate a vulnerable individual, but pursue territorial antelope species (which defend themselves by running in wide circles) by cutting across the arc to foil their escape.
Wild dogs will prey upon a wide array of animals but are best at hunting small to medium-sized antelopes, such as the red lechwe. In bushed and wooded habitats, they will take down warthog and even young kudu. Staple prey sizes are usually between 15 a... A species-wide study showed that by preference, where available, five prey species were the most regularly selected, namely the greater kudu, Thomson's gazelle, impala, Cape bushbuck and blue wildebeest. More specifically, in East Africa, its most common prey is the Thomson's gazelle, while in Central and Southern Africa, it targets impala, reedbuck, kob, lechwe and springbok, and smaller prey such as common duiker, dik-dik, hares, spring hares, insects and cane rats.
Communicating with each other throughout the chase, they take turns to lead. With their loping stride, unvarying pace and unswerving focus, wild dogs are meat-seeking missiles locked onto their target. Cruel though this sounds, it is a necessity. They have to gulp down a meal as quickly as possible before they are driven off their kill by more powerful predators such as lions or scavenging hyenas.
Painted dogs have fantastic stamina and the ability to run at speeds up to 35mph (56.3 km) for over 3 miles (4.8 km). They outlast their prey's endurance. Their physical endurance gives painted dogs one of the best hunt success rates in the African animal kingdom: 80% instead of the 20-30% average success rate of lions, leopards, or cheetahs.
Food is consumed quickly, on the spot, to keep it from being stolen by larger predators, but the entire pack shares the kill, including the ones who did not or could not help in the hunt. After gorging, the dogs return to the den area, where non-hunting pack members beg food from each other by whining and licking each other's mouths.
Populations in the Okavango Delta have been observed 'rallying' before setting out to hunt. Not every rally results in a departure, but departure becomes more likely when more individual dogs 'sneeze'. These sneezes are characterized by a short, sharp exhale through the nostrils. When members of dominant mating pairs sneeze first, the group is much more likely to depart. If a dominant dog initiates, around three sneezes guarantee departure. When less dominant dogs sneeze first, if enough others also sneeze (about 10), then the group will go hunting.
Reproduction
African wild dog populations in East Africa appear to have no fixed breeding season, whereas those in Southern Africa usually breed during the April-July period. African painted dogs reach sexual maturity at 18 months of age. The pack’s dominant female and male breed, with females producing typically seven to 12 offspring per litter (up to 21 have been recorded). Like their hunting behavior, the breeding system for wild dogs is an example of remarkable cooperation.
During estrus, the female is closely accompanied by a single male, which keeps other members of the same sex at bay. The estrus period can last as long as 20 days. The gestation period lasts 69-73 days, with the interval between each pregnancy being 12-14 months typically. The African wild dog produces more pups than any other canid, with litters containing around six to 16 pups, with an average of 10, thus indicating that a single female can produce enough young to form a new pack every year.
After giving birth, the mother stays close to the pups in the den, while the rest of the pack hunts. She typically drives away pack members approaching the pups until the latter are old enough to eat solid food at three to four weeks of age. The pups leave the den around the age of three weeks and are suckled outside. The pups are weaned at the age of five weeks, when they are fed regurgitated meat by the other pack members. By seven weeks, the pups begin to take on an adult appearance, with noticeable lengthening in the legs, muzzle, and ears. Once the pups reach the age of eight to 10 weeks, the pack abandons the den and the young follow the adults during hunts.
Threats to Survival
African wild dogs are the second most endangered carnivore in Africa after the Ethiopian wolf. They are primarily threatened by habitat fragmentation. Because the African wild dog largely exists in fragmented, small populations, its existence is endangered. When wild dogs enter human-dominated landscapes, they are susceptible to diseases, like rabies and canine distemper, that are carried by domestic dogs and can wipe out entire packs. Roads, too, are a major threat to wild dogs, and road accidents are a major cause of mortality. Their natural competitors are lions and spotted hyenas: the former will kill the dogs where possible whilst the latter are frequent kleptoparasites.
Increased exposure to humans poses numerous threats to the wild dogs’ survival. Whilst they normally prefer wild prey, wild dogs may attack domestic livestock if the opportunity arises, leading to conflict with farmers that may result in pack members being shot. African wild dogs travelling on roads unwittingly put themselves at great risk from speeding traffic.
Conservation Efforts
Conservation efforts are focused on coexistence, conflict resolution, and accident and disease prevention. Fauna & Flora is supporting wild dog conservation in Kenya, Mozambique and South Sudan. Wildlife corridors have been opened to connect wild dogs with nearby protected areas in order to minimise contact with humans. The strategic deployment of fencing has reduced the risk of wild dog packs encroaching on community land and preying on domestic livestock. Ol Pejeta has also employed teams of vets, who are helping wild dogs to recover from diseases.
Our partners, Bushlife Conservancy, are working hard to protect African wild dogs in Mana Pools World Heritage Site, Zimbabwe. Bushlife has recently started the Mana Pools Carnivore Research Project, which will provide data to help Zimparks ecologists develop conservation solutions for their management. They also run the Bushlife Painted Wolf Conservancy, specialising in research and conservation of wild dogs. Their main aims are: Stop poaching in the protected Zambezi Valley Area, expand the radius of this protected area, conduct research on the wild dogs through studies such as collaring and den monitoring and ensure the future of wild dogs for generations to come.
Subspecies of African Wild Dog
| Subspecies | Name | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Cape wild dog | L. p. pictus | Largest, weighing 20-25 kg (44-55 lb). Colourful with much orange-yellow fur. |
| East African wild dog | L. p. lupinus | Geographic variations in coat colour. |
| Somali wild dog | L. p. somalicus | Smaller, shorter, coarser fur, weaker dentition. |
| Chadian wild dog | L. p. sharicus | Brightly coloured with very short 15 mm (0.6 in) hair. Fuller brain case. |
| West African wild dog | L. p. manguensis | Used to be widespread from western to central Africa. |
