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 African Wild Dog, Melbourne Zoo
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| Lycaon pictus (Temminck, 1820) |
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 African Wild Dog range
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The African Wild Dog or African Hunting Dog, Lycaon pictus, is a carnivorous mammal of the Canidae family, found only in Africa, especially in scrub savanna and other lightly wooded areas. It is also called Cape Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, or Painted Wolf in English, Wildehond in Afrikaans, and Mbwa mwitu in Swahili. It is the only species in the monotypic genus, Lycaon.
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Anatomy and reproduction
The wild dog has a pelage (fur) with an irregular pattern of black, yellow, and white, distinctive for each individual. Lycaon pictus means "painted wolf" in Greek. It is the only canid species to lack dewclaws on the forelimbs. Adults typically weigh 17-36 kilograms (37-79 pounds).[1] A tall, lean animal, they stand about 30 inches (75 cm) at the shoulder, with a head and body length averaging about 40 inches (100cm) and a tail of 12 to 18 inches (30-45cm). Animals in southern Africa are generally larger than those in the eastern or western Africa. There is little sexual dimorphism, though judging by skeletal dimensions, males are usually 3-7% larger. They have a dental formula of
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for a total of 42 teeth. The premolars are relatively large compared to other canids, allowing them to consume a large quantity of bone, much like hyenas.[2] The heel of the lower carnassial M1 is crested with a single cusp, which enhances the shearing capacity of teeth and thus the speed at which prey can be consumed. This feature is called trenchant heel and is shared with two other canids: the Asian dhole and the South American bush dog.
A study by Wroe et al[3] established that the African Wild dog had a Bite Force Quotient of 142, the highest of any extant carnivorous mammal. The BFQ is essentially the strength of bite as measured against the animal's mass. Wild dogs reproduce at any time of year and peak between March and June during the second half of the rainy season. 2-19 pups can be born per litter, though 10 is the most usual number. The time between births is usually 12-14 months, though it can also be as short as 6 months if all of the previous young die. Pups are usually born in an abandoned den dug by other animals such as aardvarks. Weaning takes place at about 10 weeks. After 3 months, the den is abandoned and the pups begin to run with the pack. At the age of 8-11 months they can kill small prey, but they are not proficient until about 12-14 months, at which time they can fend for themselves. Pups reach sexual maturity at the age of 12-18 months.
Females will disperse from their birth pack at 14-30 months of age and join other packs that lack sexually mature females. Males typically do not leave the pack they were born to.[1] This is the opposite situation to that in most other social mammals, where a group of related females forms the core of the pack or similar group. In the African wild dog, the females compete for access to males that will help to rear their offspring. In a typical pack, males outnumber females by a factor of two to one, and only the dominant female is usually able to rear pups. This unusual situation may have evolved to ensure that packs do not over-extend themselves by attempting to rear too many litters at the same time.[4] A captive breeding and translocation program at Mkomazi Game Reserve, the first of its kind in East Africa, was founded in 1995 to provide dogs for a multinational effort to stabilize their numbers and to reintroduce the species to its traditional homeland. The dogs are allocated to four breeding compounds to maximize genetic diversity. An extensive veterinary program has been set up to improve their immunity to disease.
Hunting
African Wild Dogs hunt in packs. Their main prey varies among populations, but always focuses on medium sized ungulates such as impala. A few packs, however, will also include much larger animals, such as zebras, in their prey. This requires a closely coordinated attack, beginning with a rapid charge to stampede the herd. One wild dog then grabs the victim's tail, while another attacks the upper lip, and the remainder disembowel the zebra while it is immobilised.This behaviour is also used on other large dangerous prey such as warthogs, cape buffalo and giraffe calves and large antelope-even the 1 ton Giant Eland. Though it sounds brutal this method actually kills large animals far more quickly than the strangle hold used by big cats,which can take 10 minutes or more to kill. Remarkably, this appears to be a learned tactic, passed on from generation to generation within specific hunting packs, rather than an instinctive behaviour found commonly within the species. Some studies have also shown that other information, such as the location of watering holes, may be passed on in a similar fashion. While the vast majority of their diet is made up of mammal prey they do sometimes hunt large birds,especially ostrich's.[4] Like most members of the dog family, they are cursorial hunters, meaning that they pursue their prey in a long, open chase, rather than relying on stealth as most members of the cat family. During pursuit, they may reach speeds of up to 45 mph.[5] Nearly 80% of all hunts end in a kill. Members of a pack vocalize to help coordinate their movements. Their voice is characterized by an unusual chirping or squeaking sound, similar to a bird. After a successful hunt, dogs regurgitate meat for those that remained at the den during the hunt, such as the dominant female and the pups. They will also feed other pack members such as the sick, injured or very old that cannot keep up. The home range of packs varies enormously, depending on the size of the pack, and the nature of the terrain. In the Serengeti, the average range has been estimated at 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles), although individual ranges overlap extensively. [4]
Distribution and threats
There were once about 500,000 African Wild Dogs in 39 countries, and packs of 100 or more were not uncommon. Now there are only about 3,000 in 25 countries and are listed as the second most endangered carnivore in Africa. They are primarily found in the eastern and southern Africa, most of them in the two remaining large populations associated with the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania and the population centered in northern Botswana and eastern Namibia. Smaller but apparently secure populations of several hundred individuals are found in Zimbabwe, South Africa (Kruger National Park) and in the Ruaha/Rungwa/Kisigo complex of Tanzania. Isolated populations persist in Zambia, Kenya and Mozambique. Wild Dogs are endangered by habitat loss and hunting. They use very large territories (and so can persist only in large wildlife protected areas) and they are strongly affected by competition with larger carnivores that rely on the same prey base, particularly lions and spotted hyenas. They are also killed by livestock herders and game hunters, though they are typically no more (perhaps less) persecuted than other carnivores that pose more threat to livestock. Most of Africa's National Parks are too small for a pack of Wild Dogs so they expand to the unprotected areas which tend to be ranch or farm land. Ranchers and farmers protect their domestic animals by killing Wild Dogs. Like other carnivores, wild dogs are sometimes affected by outbreaks of viral diseases such as rabies, distemper and parvovirus. Although these diseases are not more pathogenic or virulent for wild dogs, the small size of most wild dog populations makes them vulnerable to local extinction due to diseases or other problems.
Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) effort based in Hwange National Park, western Zimbabwe, works with local communities to create new strategies for conserving the wild dog and its habitat.
Name controversy
A controversy began in the late 1990s when conservationists working to protect them said that their most common name, "African Wild Dog", was a source of confusion and prejudice. Conservationist Greg Rasmussen wrote in 1998:
- "The name 'wild dog' developed during an era of persecution of all predators when the name applied to feral dogs, hyenas, jackals and cape hunting dogs (Pringle, 1980). 'Painted' aside from being a direct translation of the specific epithet, accurately describes the unique varicoloured markings of each individual. Apart from being misleading, continued use of the name 'wild dog' does little more than further fuel negative attitude and prejudice which is detrimental to conservation efforts."[6].
Rasmussen is one of the founders of Painted Dog Conservation. He advocates using the name "Painted Dog" for them.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b Animal Info - Wild Dog. Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
- ^ African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus). Lioncrusher's Domain. Retrieved on 2007-06-08.
- ^ Wroe, Stephen & McHenry, Colin (16 October 2004), "Bite club: comparative bite force in big biting mammals and the prediction of predatory behaviour in fossil taxa", Proc. R. Soc. B, doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2986, <http://intern.forskning.no/dokumenter/wroe.pdf>
- ^ a b c Malcolm, James (1984). in Macdonald, D.: The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File, 31. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
- ^ http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004737.html
- ^ The Name
- ^ Curse of the Devil's Dogs
References
- McNutt et al (2004). Lycaon pictus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered
- Nowak, Ronald M. (2005). Walker's Carnivores of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 0-8018-8032-7
- Creel, Scott & Creel, Nancy. (2002). The African Wild Dog: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation. Princeton University Press.
External links
- African Wild Dog Conservancy: Dedicated to conserving wild dogs through research and education
- Namibia Nature Foundation Wild Dog Project: Conservation of African wild dogs in Namibia
- African Wild Dogs: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation
- Perth Zoo
- Edinburgh Zoo Fact Sheet
- BBC - Pictures of African Wild Dog Puppies
- Short Video about the African Wild Dog
- Painted Dog Conservation: Working to conserve the species in Zimbabwe
- Save the African Wild Dog: Features a number of projects with donation details
- Video of wild dogs hunting springbok in Botswana Watch them escape with the help of a group of Oryx protecting their young in the Central Kalahari
- More video of wild dogs in the Central Kalahari More video of wild dogs seen in Botswana
- WildLifeNow Website for the Tony Fitzjohn/George Adamson African Wildlife Preservation Trust, supporting the Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania
- www.dottyrhino.com Animated website for kids. Meet Dotty Rhino & her friends who live in Mkomazi Game Reserve, a real-life game reserve in Africa
See also
- Dhole - Asiatic Wild Dog
