Lycaon pictus
German: Hyänenhund - Afrikaans: Wildehund - French: Loup-peint - Kikuyu: Muthige
Wild dogs have mottled coats that appear to be splashes of brown, red, black, yellow, tan and white. Their latin name, Lycaon pictus, means painted or ornate wolf. The patterns are unique to each dog though generally the fur on the head is dark and the tail tip white. A wild dog's coat is short with little or no undercoat and where the fur is sparse the blackish skin shows through. They are medium to tall in height, 24 - 30 inches (60 - 75 cm) but fairly light weight at 44 - 55 pounds (20 - 25 kg). The ears are large and round, the legs long and muscular with four toes on each foot.
Persecution, disease and reduction in habitat has caused a marked decrease in wild dog populations and they are considered an endangered species. This is surprising as they are very successful hunters and they have the largest number of offspring (up to 20 pups) per litter of any mammal. Average life expectancy is 10 years.
Although it is a diurnal animal, it will hunt and travel at night. A pack of dogs will travel up to 6 miles (10 km) a day in search of prey. If there is a food shortage, the pack will look for a new home range traveling as much as 25 miles (40 km) a day for two or three days at a time. Home ranges can be anywhere from 580 - 770 sq miles (1500 - 2000 sq km) As long their food is very moist, they can go long intervals without water.
Wild dogs packs tend to average about 10 individuals though it is possible to have as many as 40 or 60 members.
Gender differences:
There is little difference between males and females.
Habitat:
Wild dogs prefer grasslands, savannahs and open woodland. Habitat also includes semi-desert to mountainous areas of the Sahara Desert . Once found throughout the non-forested and non-desert regions of Africa, their current distribution is fragmented. Wild dogs can be found now in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, some parts of Zimbabwe, Swaziland and the Transvaal.
Diet:
Wild dogs need abundant sources of prey which average in weight from 30 - 100 pounds (14 - 45 kg.) Prey animals include impala, duiker and old or sick members of larger species such as wildebeest and zebra. If the kill is a large animal they may cache some of it however they very often do not return to the cached food. Wild dogs are not generally known to eat plants or insects and they do not scavenge, not even a fresh kill.
Reproduction:
There is a breeding pair in each pack which is in charge. This pair can be identified by increased urine marking. Normally they are the only pack members that mate and they are monogamous for life. Neither the male nor the female is dominant, they act as equals. The dominant pair usually prevents subordinate pack members from breeding but occasionally a subordinate female is allowed to breed and rear a litter. Mating occurs year round but whelping peaks during or after the rainy season. The gestation period is 69 - 73 days. Litters can be between 2 and 20 pups (the smaller litters are to captive wild dogs). Pups are born in a grass lined den, usually an abandoned aardvark hole, and remain there with their mother for three to four weeks. As soon as the pups leave the den the entire pack takes on the responsibily of rearing them. Other females than their mother will nurse them and they are weaned sometimes as early as 5 weeks of age. The normal interval between litters is 12 to 14 months.
Other:
Before the recent decline of this species packs of up to 100 members had been recorded. On average a pack has more males than females and females tend to emigrate from their natal group more often than males. Females generally leave their pack to join another one with no females.
Wild dogs have unique social concerns and structure within their pack. Not only does the whole pack raise the young, they also care for wounded or sick members. After a kill hunting members will regurgitate food for these individuals as well as for pack members that were not able to go on the hunt. There is very little aggresion between pack members.
The hunting pack is led by the alpha male. Wild dogs hunt by sight, not smell. Once located the prey is chased, sometimes for several kilometers, at speeds up 55 kmph. They chase the prey until it begins to tire, whereupon it is torn to pieces. While hunting dogs will tolerate other scavengers at their kills they will drive off spotted hyenas sometimes injuring or even killing them.
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