African Wild Dog

Classification and Evolution

The African Wild Dog (also known as the Painted Dog and the Cape Hunting Dog) is a medium-sized species of canine found across sub-Saharan Africa. The African Wild Dog is most easily identified from both domestic and other wild Dogs by its brightly mottled fur, with its name in scientific name, Lycaon pictus, aptly meaning painted wolf. It is the only member of the genus Lycaon still in existence.

There are five subspecies of Lycaon pictus currently listed, but there is scientific debate about the classifications, so they may change in time :

• Cape Wild Dog, L. p. pictus
• East African Wild Dog, L. p. lupinus
• Somali Wild Dog, L. p. somalicus
• Chadian Wild Dog, L. p. sharicus
• West African Wild Dog, L. p. manguensis

The African Wild Dog, or its ancestors, has been around for a very, very long time. The species genetically diverged from other canids over 1.7 million years ago. Fossils show evidence of Lycaon pictus 200,000 years ago in the area of modern-day Israel. The dogs were known and depicted in art in ancient Egypt. They were also mentioned in literature dating back to the second and third centuries.

Through the centuries, they have evolved well to adapt to their needs and environment. These evolutionary change include their coloring, which serves as camouflage and as a temperature regulator, their teeth, and their feet have all evolved. Most canines have five toes on both their front and back feet, but the African Wild Dog lost the first digit on its forefeet to expand its stride and speed and to make it easier to pursue prey across open plains for long distances. 

Anatomy and Appearance

The most distinctive feature of the African Wild Dog is its beautifully mottled fur which makes this canine very easy to identify. The fur of the African Wild Dog is red, black, white, brown and yellow in colour with the random pattern of colours being unique to each individual. It is also thought to act as a type of camouflage, helping the African Wild Dog to blend into its surroundings. The African Wild Dog also has large ears, a long muzzle and long legs, with four toes on each foot. This is one of the biggest differences between the African Wild Dog and other canine species as they have five.

Distribution and Habitat

African Wild Dogs are found naturally roaming the deserts, open-plains and arid savanna of sub-Saharan Africa where the range of the African Wild Dog has decreased rapidly. It is thought that the African Wild Dog was once found in nearly 40 different African countries but that number is much lower today, at between 10 and 25. Now most African Wild Dog populations are primarily restricted to National Parks across southern Africa, with the highest populations found in Botswana and Zimbabwe. African Wild Dogs require large territories to support the pack, with pack sizes having in fact dropped in number with their decreasing home-ranges.

Behavior and Lifestyle

African Wild Dogs are highly intelligent and sociable animals that gather in packs of generally between 10 and 30 individuals. There is a strict ranking system within the pack, led by the dominant breeding pair. They are the world’s most sociable dogs and do everything as a group, from hunting for and sharing food, to helping sick members and assisting in raising young. African Wild Dogs communicate between one another through touch, movement and sound. Pack members are incredibly close, gathering together before a hunt to nose and lick each other, whilst wagging their tails and making high-pitched noises. African Wild Dogs lead a crepuscular lifestyle meaning that they are most active during dawn and dusk.

You can check out incredible facts about African wild dogs.

Reproduction and Life Cycles

In African Wild Dog packs, there is usually only one breeding pair, which are the dominant male and female members. After a gestation period of around 70 days, the female African Wild Dog gives birth to between 2 and 20 pups in a den, which she remains in with her young for the first few weeks, relying on the other pack members to provide her with food. The African Wild Dog cubs leave the den at between 2 and 3 months old and are fed and cared for by the entire pack until they are old enough to become independent and generally leave to join or start another African Wild Dog pack. It is thought that the more looked after the pups are, the higher their chances of survival.

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.

Predators and Threats

Due to the relatively large size and dominant nature of the African Wild Dog and their pack, they have few natural predators within their native habitats. Lions and Hyenas have been known on occasion, to prey on African Wild Dog individuals that have been separated from the rest of the group.

One of the biggest threats to the African Wild Dog are farmers who hunt and kill the African Wild Dog in fear that they are preying on their livestock. The slightly savage nature of the African Wild Dog has led to superstitions regarding it, with locals having almost wiped out entire populations in certain areas.

The loss of their historical ranges, generally due to growing human settlements, has pushed the remaining African Wild Dog populations into small pocket of their native regions. Although the majority of the African Wild Dog population is today confined to National Parks, they tend to require much larger territories and come into conflict with humans when they leave these protected areas.

These dogs are also subject to diseases carried by livestock, and that causes further population decline.

Conservation Status

Today, the African Wild Dog is listed as an Endangered species by the IUCN. There are thought to be only about 6600 individuals left roaming sub-Saharan Africa today, with numbers still declining.