African wild dogs are some of the favorite animals to see on safari.
There is nothing quite like coming across a large pack of these graceful animals in the bush
their beautiful spotted coats of black, brown, white and yellow
and their social nature make them a joy to watch.
Here are some amazing facts about Africa’s “painted wolf”.
African wild dogs are known by many different names
The scientific name of the African wild dog is "lycaon pictus",
a latin term meaning "painted wolf".
This is the most common nickname for the African wild dog,
but they are known by many other monikers including "cape hunting dog",
"painted dog", "African hunting dog", "painted hunting dog", and "ornate wolf".
African wild dogs are neither wolves nor dogs, despite their common English names.
Size
Weigh between 40-80 pounds (18-36 kg); Females are generally 3–7% smaller than males.
The species stands 60 to 75 cm (24 to 30 in) in shoulder height,
measures 71 to 112 cm (28 to 44 in) in head-and-body length.
Their tail is relatively large and always tipped with white.
They are long-legged and slender with a broad skull.
An african wild dog’s spotted coat is unique
Similar to other great African animals with distinct coat patterns,
no two wild dogs have the same spotted patterns—these are unique to individual wild dogs
and help members within the pack distinguish between one another.
The beautiful colors of their coat (black, brown, yellow and white)
also helps wild dogs blend in to their natural habitat of grassland, savannah and woodland.
African wild dogs are incredibly social
Wild dogs live in packs ranging in size from 6 - 30 members,
making their packs one of the largest of the wild canines.
Since wild dogs live in such close proximity with each other,
they have evolved to be incredibly social.
There is a hierarchy within a pack,
led by a dominant breeding pair,
and struggle is generally limited within the pack once this hierarchy has been established.
Wild dogs communicate with one another through touch,
tail wags and a variety of vocalizations that include a short bark (which can signify alarm),
a howl (which rallies the wild dogs together),
and a bell-like sound which can be heard over long distances.
A wild dog’s vocalizations go well beyond that of a domestic dog.
They greet each other with twittering and whining sounds,
and when one dog has lost the group, it will make an owl-like “hoo” call to find the pack.
African wild dogs are highly intelligent
Unlike many other pack-hunting animals,
wild dogs of a single pack rarely intimidate or fight one another for position;
instead they exhibit behaviors that support the health of the pack over individual members.
For example, younger members of the pack who conduct hunts
will bring back food for the older members.
Similarly, young cubs are raised by all members of the pack including
both male and female members.
African wild dogs are wanderers
Wild dog packs roam large areas and rarely stay in a single place for long.
As a result, wild dogs require large territories to thrive. Wild dogs in Tanzania's Serengeti,
for example, have been known to roam an area over 900 square miles.
African wild dogs have unique physical features
Unlike their domestic counterparts, wild dogs only have four toes per forefoot.
In addition, a wild dog's large,round ears
allow them to keep track of pack members over long distances through audio signals.
African wild dogs have large litters
With litters of 2-20 pups, wild dogs have some of the largest litters of wild canines.
Usually, more than twice as many males are born as females and,
in a behaviour unique to wild dogs,
when the pups reach maturity,
the females leave the pack to look for mates while the males stay in their natal pack.
African wild dogs are crepuscular
African wild dogs are most active during twilight
the period immediately before dawn and after dusk—making them "crepuscular".
Twilight is a key time for wild dogs
because their prey is the most active during this period
and the cover of night gives wild dogs a hunting and camouflage advantage,
making them more difficult to be detected by both predators and prey.
African wild dogs are expert hunters
Before initiating a hunt,
African wild dogs conduct a playful ceremony in which they circle one another,
touching and vocalizing to get themselves excited about the coming hunt.
Wild dogs are built for endurance
they can maintain speeds of up to 35 mph over a range of 3 miles,
which allows them to outlast their prey.
This stamina combined with smart hunting tactics,
where some members lead the hunt close to prey,
while others tactically circle the prey,
results is an extremely high hunting success rate.
Some experts predict that wild dogs are successful in 80% of their hunting attempts.
By comparison, the hunting rate of polar bears is only 2%.
Threats to African Wild Dogs
The primary threats to African wild dogs are hunting and habitat loss
as well as competition from larger carnivores, such as lions and spotted hyenas.
African wild dogs are also often persecuted by farmers wanting to protect livestock
and can even be prone to picking up diseases from domestic animals.
African Wild Dog Diet and Prey
The African Wild Dog is a carnivorous and opportunistic predator,
hunting larger animals on the African plains in their big groups.
African Wild Dogs primarily prey on large mammals such as Warthogs
and numerous species of Antelope,
supplementing their diet with Rodents, Lizards, Birds and Insects.
They are even known to hunt much larger herbivores
that have been made vulnerable through sickness or injury, such as Wildebeest.
Although the African Wild Dog’s prey is often much faster,
the chase can last for miles,
and it is this Dog’s stamina and perseverance that makes them so successful,
along with their ability to maintain their speed.
Hunting as a pack also means that the African Wild Dogs can easily corner their prey.
Unlike many other carnivores,
African Wild Dogs kill their prey by starting to bite it when it is still alive.
Although this may sound cruel,
the animal actually dies more quickly and less painfully than if it was killed in the generally way.
Prey is chased by the pack and smaller animals are pulled down.
Larger prey may keep running while the dogs continue to bite and tear at it.
In both cases prey dies quickly, usually from shock or loss of blood.
The long large intestine of the African Wild Dog means that they have a very efficient system
for absorbing as much moisture from their food as possible.
This gives these canines an advantage in such arid climates
as they do not need to find such a regular supply of water.
African Wild Dogs are therefore able to go for long periods of time without needing to drink.
Habitat
The African wild dog is mostly found in savanna and arid zones,
generally avoiding forested areas.
This preference is likely linked to the animal's hunting habits,
which require open areas that do not obstruct vision or impede pursuit.
Nevertheless, it will travel through scrub, woodland and montane areas in pursuit of prey.
The African wild dog has very strong social bonds,
stronger than those of sympatric lions and spotted hyenas;
thus, solitary living and hunting are extremely rare in the species.
The fur of the African wild dog differs significantly from that of other canids,
consisting entirely of stiff bristle-hairs with no underfur.
Distribution
African wild dogs once ranged across much of sub-Saharan Africa,
being absent only in the driest desert regions and lowland forests.
Wild dogs do not have big powerful jaws like cats
so they cannot bring down large animals alone.
Hunting in a pack requires cooperation among pack members,
this enables wild dogs to bring down animals five times their size.
The characteristic large, round ears of the African wild dog have a double purpose.
They have excellent hearing for hunting prey,
and their large ears help cool the dog off in the hot African climate.
Only the dominant male and female in a pack cock a hind leg when urinating.
Subordinate animals in the pack urinate with all four legs on the ground.
At the zoo:
A commercial meat product with high protein dog chow.
Their food is fortified with vitamins and minerals.
Treats include smoked pig ears and bones.
How long do African wild dogs live for?
On average, African wild dogs live for 7 years.
In captivity, they can live up to 13 years.
Are African hunting dogs affected by climate change?
Research from ZSL’s Institute of Zoology illustrates
that wild dog breeding pairs raise fewer pups at ever increasing climatic temperatures.
That's all I want to say for this video.
Thanks for watching, goodbye!