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African
Hunting Dog
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African
Hunting Dog
(Lycaon pictus)
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Lycaon
Brookes, 1827
Species: L. pictus
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Conservation
Status:
Endangered
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African Wild Dogs are very rare
in the Serengeti and only occasional transient packs can be
found within the Park's borders. The last packs of resident
wild dogs disappeared from the park in 1991, as a consequence
of a rabies epidemic (though there is no clear consensus on
the full cause of the disappearance).
An endangered species, the current
estimate for wild dogs in the wild is approximately 5,600,
the majority living in the two remaining large populations:
one in Tanzania (Selous Game Reserve), the other in northern
Botswana and eastern Namibia. Isolated populations persist
in Zambia, Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
African Hunting Dogs hunt in packs. Their
main prey are impala and similar medium sized ungulates. Their
voice is characterized by an unusual chirping or squeaking
sound, similar to a bird. Their need for a large territory
has led to the situation where today they are threatened with
extinction. Their relatively small physique also makes them
vulnerable to attacks by their competitors, lions and hyenas.
They tend to be elusive and unlike most other members of the
dog family, are extremely difficult to tame.
The Latin name of the species means painted
wolf and it is characteristic of the species that no two individuals
have the same pattern of coat.
They have a highly complex social system,
within which related adult members cooperate to produce a
single litter of pups annually. Most populations have more
males than females because more male pups appear in litters;
it is very unusual among mammals to have this kind of gender
bias. Wild dogs will often regurgitate meat to other members
of the group: older dogs, the young, and adults that have
stayed behind to guard the young during hunting sojourns.
With excerpts from Wikipedia's
African Hunting Dog page. Photo by Aaron
Logan, displayed under a Creative
Commons Licence.
Back to African
Animals
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