Transcript:

​

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing African wild dogs. African wild dogs are also known as cape hunting dogs and painted dogs a common name that comes from the African wild dog’s fancy fur.

African wild dogs once ranged throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa but today they live in fragmented populations. They are habitat tolerant and can live just about anywhere throughout the African continent besides dense rainforests and extreme deserts, but it’s believed that they’ve been extirpated from 25 of the 39 countries they’ve historically inhabited. Today it’s currently estimated that fewer than 10,000 wild dog individuals survive in the wild which, coupled with drastic habitat loss over the past 50 years, has landed them on the Red List of Endangered Species.

While African wild dogs are predated by lions and leopards, especially as pups, the greatest threats to African wild dogs are anthropogenic, or human in origin. Unfortunately, these canids have just as bad a rep as hyenas and they are killed by local farmers, hit by cars, and accidentally ensnared by hunters after hooved prey. Today we’ll try to shed some light on how African wild dogs are different from other canids and how they can be exceptionally family oriented.

African wild dogs might have the shape of other dog-like animals, but they certainly boast the most colorful coats. These wild dogs have individual patterns, though their tails are almost always stark white. This is believed to help them identify each other while hunting. African wild dogs have long legs, though perhaps not as long as a maned wolf, and large lungs; these two adaptations grant them endurance. African wild dogs live in packs and depend on each other to bring down meals.

These dogs typically eat small to medium size ungulates like impalas, gazelles, and even the occasional wildebeest. The dogs will encircle a potential meal, run in, and chase down an animal. This chase may last for upwards of an hour and the dogs can reach top speeds of 34 miles per hour (55km/hour) in short bursts. Their strategy is to wear down the other animal until it’s too tired to continue. During the chase, the dogs will nip at the legs and belly of their prey to wear it down faster. African wild dogs have one of the highest success rates of all African land predators as they manage to take down anywhere from 60 to 90% of their meals! Once caught, they make quick work of their meal because the threat of lions could spell disaster for the pack.

African wild dogs are actually the largest living canids in Africa. That might sound strange considering hyenas live in Africa, but hyenas aren’t canids. You’ll have to check out our hyena episode to learn about who hyenas are related to! African wild dogs stand around two feet (61cm) tall at the shoulders and weigh about 55 pounds (25kg).

African wild dogs have four toes with no dewclaws and their large ears not only give them excellent hearing, they also help to keep the dogs cool, not unlike an African elephant’s ears! African wild dog packs are led by a dominant couple who are generally the only breeders in the group, though occasionally subordinates are allowed to mate, as well. While these dogs reach reproductive maturity around 12 to 18 months of age, they don't begin breeding until much later. This is because they’ll remain with their parent group for at least two years before setting off on their own.

Female African wild dog sisters will all leave together at the same time between the ages of two and three. They’ll set off in search of an all male pack who just so happens to be all related brothers. So when they come together, all the females are related to each other and all the males are related to each other, but the males and females aren’t related to each other! African wild dog packs average 7 to 15 members including adults, sub adults, and puppies, but their numbers can reach more than 40 in certain circumstances!

African wild dogs give birth in dens, usually abandoned aardvark burrows, and may give birth from anywhere between two and more than twenty puppies. The pups are raised by their mother for the first three weeks of life and then the rest of the pack until the kids leave. African wild dogs are so pack oriented that they’ll even feed their sick and injured members and take of them like they do their babies.

For more facts on African wild dogs, check out the links in the description. Thank you to Lycan guis for today’s request! Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!