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Endangered - African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictusis)

African Wild dog, Cape Hunting dog, Painted Dog or just Wild dog

 

Wild Dogs are Africa’s second most endangered carnivore with about 500 living in South Africa. Hundreds of thousands of wild dogs once roamed the sub-Saharan savannahs, woodlands, and grasslands all the way to the Cape Peninsula, hence the popular name – the Cape hunting dog. Now only about 3 500 wild dogs survive in their original territories.

Introduction

Easily identified, they look as if they have been painted with splotches of tan, white, black and
grey paint. The splotches are unique for each dog – like a fingerprint – and this allows us to recognise individual dogs. This is useful to researchers who study their behaviour, because they can identify the members of each pack. The Ethiopian wolf is the most endangered wild dog in Africa, Wild dogs are the most endangered species of large dog in southern Africa. They need huge home ranges in wilderness areas, and these are being used for development and farming. Fences around game farms prevent them from roaming as far as they used to, and it is difficult for them to find enough game to feed the pack. Farmers shoot them, and they are often caught and killed in snares. Once they had a wide distribution, but they have become extinct in many places, and only a few large conservation areas in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa still have healthy
populations. Unless we take action to protect them, the remaining survivors will soon disappear.

Why is the wild dog endangered?

As a hunter and meat-eater requiring an extensive habitat, it is constantly in competition with humans, and particularly with game and livestock farmers. Some regard the wild dog's method of killing its prey excessively cruel, so there is a negative attitude towards the animal. In the wild, lions are the main killers of wild dogs. As a result, the species has been exterminated from large parts of Africa and today it is one of the continent's most rarely encountered animals.

What does the wild dog look like?

It's about the size of a fairly big domestic dog, such as a German Shepherd. The fur of the wild dog is shaggy yet short; at the end of its tail and around its throat the fur is a little longer. It is coloured in irregularly shaped blotches: black, white, and pale yellow-brown. Each animal is differently blotched and no two are identical (even if they are from the same litter). The tip of the tail is always white. Extending between the muzzle and the ears is a dark stripe of fur. Because of its blotchy coat, wild dogs are well camouflaged, making it difficult for them to be seen in the bush or in long grass. The large ears are round in shape and darkly coloured; also dark in colour is the muzzle. Wild dogs have four digits on each foot. They are extremely lean animals, very muscular and long with slender legs. You will never see a fat specimen (even a pregnant female will have only a swollen belly).
Weight (mass): about 20 - 30 kilograms;
Length: 1 - 1.5 metres;
Length of tail: 30 - 40 centimetres;
Shoulder height: 60 - 85 centimetres.

Where could you expect to see a wild dog?

The species is restricted to Africa, preferring a habitat with open short-grass or bushy grasslands where there is water and where it has space to run down its prey. In the sub region of the continent it used to be more widespread, but today is found only in the national parks and other game areas. Nomadic by nature, wild dogs keep on the move: thus one can expect to see them in any suitable area where food is plentiful and fencing no hindrance. Wild dogs are currently being reintroduced to several game parks, and the progress of the operation is being monitored.

At what time of day could you expect to see a wild dog and how many at a time?

Active in the late afternoon and early morning, the animal usually sleeps when the sun is hottest. Mostly you will encounter family packs, from 5 to 40 in number, each with a dominant male and female.

What does a wild dog eat?

As a carnivorous species, it eats meat, preferring fresh kills of large or small mammals.

When and how does the wild dog kill?

Wild dogs kill only for food. They may have a reputation for being cruel, but in fact they kill their prey as swiftly as most other predators. Prey is chased by the pack and smaller animals are pulled down. Larger prey may keep running while the dogs continue to bite and tear at it. In both cases prey dies very quickly, usually from shock or loss of blood. Wild dogs concentrate on 'easy' prey, mainly the young, sick and old.

When does a wild dog reach sexual maturity?

At approximately 23 months of age.

What are the mating habits of wild dogs and how many pups are there in a litter?

Each pack has a dominant male and female. During the mating season male's fight vigorously for dominance, but the dominant female will remain the matriarch. The female is pregnant for about 72 days, after which she gives birth to a litter which can range in number from 6 to 14; many of these pups may not survive. Litters are born generally during the winter months (April to June), though births have been recorded outside this period. Mothers give birth to their young in disused burrows of other animals.

How are wild dog pups fed and how do they behave?

To begin with, pups drink milk from their nursing mother, but within a few weeks they begin to eat meat. This meat is obtained by the pack which goes out to hunt, each member only returning after it has gorged itself on the prey. The partially digested meat is then regurgitated for the pups - as well as the mother and older pack-members which remained behind during the hunt to act as guardians of the litter. Being very obedient and subservient towards adult wild dogs and particularly towards their parents, pups respond quickly to any sound uttered by an adult member of the pack.

How long does a wild dog live?

About 4 to 6 years in the wild; about 8 years in captivity.

Would it matter if there were no wild dogs - what use are they?

As with all predators, wild dogs help to maintain a numerical balance of species. In other words, if wild dogs were to disappear, other species would multiply unnaturally and create imbalance in nature. This in turn would affect the ecology as a whole. Wild dogs are useful as cullers of the old, sick, or injured of other species.

What sounds do wild dogs make?

They are tense and highly strung animals, uttering high-pitched twittering noises that become almost hysterical cries at times. They are noisier in the early morning and late afternoon and particularly before the hunt. When angry or defensive, they will produce a deep-throated low growl combined with a shrill cry and when distressed a low monotonous call.

How is the pack controlled?

From early on, males and females will fight amongst themselves to determine dominance of each sex. Within the pack there is a continual testing of dominance which increases during the mating season.

What is the future of the wild dog?

As long as people know how important it is to keep the species alive and do their best to ensure its survival, the chances are fair. It is an ongoing cause.

LIFE IN THE PACK

Wild dogs live in closely knit packs of up to 15 adults together with their young. Each pack has one dominant female and one dominant male. Usually only these two will mate and produce offspring. All pack members cooperate in the rearing of pups.

A high-pitched twittering, associated with excitement, is often heard when the pack is at a carcass or when they greet each other on returning from a hunt or awakening after a doze in the shade. A hooting call, called the `whoo' call, allows the members of the pack to find one another when the pack breaks up.

HUNTING

Often regarded as merciless and cruel killers, wild dogs are in fact among the most efficient of Africa's large predators. Their bad reputation is unjustified and probably a result of the frequent observation of their kills by people, as the dogs hunt mostly by day. The more `noble' lion or leopard hunts mainly after dark, and is thus seldom seen in action. However, they usually take far longer to finish off their quarry than do wild dogs.

Wild dogs hunt as a pack - they quickly single out a weak or injured animal within a herd, and the animal is then pursued until it can run no further. Wild dogs are tireless runners and chases may cover several kilometres. Contrary to popular belief, the dogs do not take turns to wear down prey. The mottled hunters quickly kill and consume their prey - impala, grey duiker, steenbok, and the young of the larger antelopes are popular items on their menu.

BREEDING

Wild dogs will take over the burrows of warthogs and other creatures, and expand them for their own needs. After very brief courtships, and gestation periods of less than two and a half months, the litters are born underground. In southern Africa births occur in the middle of the dry season, when the visibility for hunting is at its best, and the chances of finding food for the young greatest. Litters usually consist of between 7 and 14 pups, with 21 having being recorded in one litter. The young remain in their underground burrow for the first two months of life. They are guarded at all times by one or more adults who remain behind whilst the pack is out on the hunt. On returning, pups and guardians alike are fed regurgitated meat by the hunters. Should the mother of the pups die, they will be adopted by other pack members. Despite the attentiveness of the pack, there is a high mortality amongst pups which may succumb to a variety of diseases or predation.

DISTRIBUTION

Wild dogs favour savanna woodland with reasonable rainfall. They occur patchily south of the Sahara, where they are now rarely found outside the borders of wildlife sanctuaries. In southern Africa, wild dogs are confined to large game reserves, such as the Kruger, Hwange, Gonarezhou, Moremi, and Chobe parks as well as the smaller Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park. Free-roaming packs still occur in the Bushmanland region of Namibia. Their status in Mozambique is unknown.

WHY ENDANGERED?

African wild dogs are great roamers and frequently come into contact with farmers and their livestock. Since they prey on small stock they are often shot or poisoned by farmers. Until the 1960s even game rangers eliminated the dogs wherever they could: they were blamed for creating havoc amongst antelope herds which were then regarded as the priorities of wildlife preservation.

Recent research on these interesting creatures has revealed their fascinating social habits and beneficial role in weeding weak animals out of antelope populations. Reserves now prize any packs living within their boundaries, these being the only places where wild dogs will survive. Packs often leave the boundaries of protected areas and are then at great risk from stock farmers. Although they breed well in captivity and are thus available for reintroduction, there are few suitable areas to which wild dogs can be returned.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

* Be sure to report sightings of wild dogs in the visitor's books of national parks and game reserves. Game rangers would be particularly interested to hear of any pups or dens that you may have seen.

* People interested in donating money to support African wild dog research should contact the Endangered Wildlife Trust, address below.

DID YOU KNOW?

* Researchers are experimenting with the use of satellite collars attached to wild dogs in the Kruger National Park. A transmitter on the collar sends a signal to a satellite which in turn passes it on to a receiver in France.
Using a modem link-up, a computer in the Kruger National Park can make contact with a computer in France, and establish the position of the animal. This allows researchers to track African wild dogs as they roam over long distances.

* The African wild dog is a protected species and it is illegal to kill it without the necessary permit.

This beautiful, gregarious painted dog, cousin to the wolf and the dingo, is on the brink of extinction. With less than 3000– 5000 left in Africa the Wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is one of the most threatened large carnivores on the continent. Plagued by legends, rumours and myths, the dogs are reviled as vicious, wanton killers who pursue their prey for hours before finally eating them alive. Due to mans prevailing hatred of this carnivore, it was wide spread practice in African national parks (including the Serengeti) to shoot wild dogs on sight. On private land today they are still regarded as vermin and a shoot to kill policy is still widely practiced. As human populations expand further into the wild dogs range they are forced onto land inhabited by people. Natural prey has been replaced with expensive game and livestock, with defined economic value. Profits that the dogs eat. They are also brought into close contact with domestic dogs where diseases like rabies and canine distemper are contracted which can have devastating effects on populations wiping out generations of genetics. Breeding projects all over Southern Africa have been successful in increasing wild dog numbers however breeders are slowly realizing that without suitable areas for relocation all these projects are doomed to failure and the painted dog faces a life of permanent captivity. In large areas like the Kruger Park the dogs range over 537 km2, though it has been suggested that well stocked reserves a small as 150 km2 are adequate to naturally sustain a pack of dogs. In Southern Africa farms are fenced into much smaller areas, too small to accommodate a pack and thus they have to travel under fences, between farms.

CONTACT ORGANISATIONS

Endangered Wildlife Trust. P/Bag X11, Parkview, 2122. Tel. 011-4861102.

National Parks Board. P/Bag X 402, Skukuza, 1350. Tel. 01311-65611.

Natal Parks Board. Hluhluwe, PO Box 25, Mutubatuba, 3935. Tel. 0355620-255.

Extracts and ackowledgements to:
tigertemple.org
dewildt.org.za
kwantu.co.za
thanda.co.za
www.botany.uwc.ac.za
keriresearch.com
south-african-lodges.com