African Wild Dog

African wild dogs, also known as painted dogs or painted wolves, are the largest canids in Africa and the second largest in the world after wolves. Historically destroyed as "problem animals" because of conflicts with livestock, their populations have long been declining and they are now considered Endangered. There are only around 1,400 mature wild dogs left in the wild.

Common Name:

African Wild Dog, Painted Dog or Painted Wolf

Scientific Name:

Lycaon pictus

IUCN Red List Status:

Endangered

Weight: 

18 to 36 kg (40 to 79 lb)

Size:

100 to 153 cm (39 to 60 in.) head to tail

Habitats:

Grassland, shrubland, savanna, forest, desert

Threats:

Habitat fragmentation, conflict with livestock, road accidents, snares, infectious disease

Continent:

Africa

GC Sites:

Mana Pools World Heritage Site, Zimbabwe

Partners:

Bushlife Conservancy

The Zambezi Society

Indochinese Tiger Global Population Size Over Time by Year and Estimated Population:

1997 — 3k-5.5k

2004 — 5,750

2020 — 6,600

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African wild dogs, also known as painted dogs or painted wolves, are the largest canids in Africa and the second largest in the world after wolves. Historically destroyed as "problem animals" because of conflicts with livestock, their populations have long been declining and they are now considered Endangered.

Historically, wild dogs were distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, from deserts to savannas. They were even once spotted on the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Since they hunt their prey by chasing them over long distances, they usually prefer open habitat, but are otherwise very adaptable. In the past, they were probably only absent from lowland rainforest and the driest desert.

African wild dogs are highly social, living in tightly-knit packs where the entire family pitches in to raise litters of pups. Usually, only the dominant female breeds, producing more pups than any other canid (six to sixteen, with an average of ten). Unlike other social predators in Africa, solitary living and hunting in wild dogs is almost unheard of.

Along with cheetahs, wild dogs are the only African carnivores that primarily hunt during the day. They hunt by approaching prey silently, then chasing it at up to 66 km/h (41 mph) for 10-60 minutes. On average, the chase covers around 2km (1.4 miles). Wild dogs have a hunting success rate of 60-90%, making them more consistently successful than lions or hyenas.

Lions and hyenas are their natural enemies; lions often kill wild dogs, and ecosystems that have high lion numbers tend to have fewer wild dogs.

The beautiful patterns on wild dogs' coats are unique to each individual, and are thought to help the dogs recognize each other, which they can do visually from a distance of 50-100m (160-330 feet).

Did you know? Wild dogs make decisions by sneeze-voting. When the group gets together to make a decision, like whether to go and hunt, the more likely it is to happen. When the dominant dogs sneeze first, few other votes are needed.

Threats

African wild dogs are the second most endangered carnivore in Africa after the Ethiopian wolf. They are primarily threatened by habitat fragmentation. The destruction of their habitat also forces them into conflict with humans, especially when they hunt livestock.

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. Snares, a method of poaching which captures wildlife indiscriminately, also kill many wild dogs in some areas.

Conservation Action

Our partners, Bushlife Conservancy, are working hard to protect African wild dogs in Mana Pools World Heritage Site, Zimbabwe. The average number of wild dogs in the park is 110.

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.

• Ensure the future of wild dogs for generations to come.  

Research

The Painted Wolf Conservancy makes efforts to monitor the wild dogs in Mana Pools, facilitating innovative research on this species.

Nick Murray aims to secure a research permit which will facilitate efforts to collar some of the dogs in Mana Pools. This would allow the Conservancy to track the movements of various packs, identifying any instances of unnatural disturbance or loss of life.

The Painted Wolf Conservancy is also working on a research project which includes the monitoring of the den sites in Mana Pools National Park. To date, the study of den site selection has proved to be entirely unique to other study areas.

The Mana Pools wild dogs have also displayed behavioural characteristics entirely unique to the species. For many years, Bushlife has been monitoring the dogs' predisposition for baboon hunting, a singular characteristic of the packs in Mana Pools.

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