WILD DOG

OTHER NAMES

African Wild Dog, Cape Hunting Dog,

Painted Hunting Dog

DESCRIPTION

Shoulder Height

•

0.6 - 0.8 m

Weight

•

20 - 30kg with males very slightly

larger than females

WILD DOG

Lycaon pictus

Key identification features

The African Wild Dog is a lean, long-legged dog. The head

is large, with a heavy muzzle and powerful jaws. The coat is

blotched with black, white and tan, each individual with a

unique pattern. Ears are upright, large and rounded; the tail

is bushy with a white tip. It has four toes on each foot, with

no dew claws.

ECOLOGY

Diet

The African Wild Dog is

the most carnivorous of all

canids (members of the

canidae, the ‘dog’ family).

They feed on a wide range of

mammals ranging in size

from Steenbok to adult Blue

Wildebeest and zebra. They

hunt by cooperating closely

in a group, allowing them to

hunt prey much larger than

themselves.

Medium-sized ungulates (25-

90 kg) form the most important

prey for Wild Dogs. Rodents,

hares, small carnivores and

birds (including Ostrich) have

also been recorded in their diet.

This species is highly social, living in packs

that are very variable in size, but averaging 10

to 15 adults and sub adults. Usually only the

dominant female will successfully raise a litter

and births may take place throughout the year,

although they are most common between

March and June. Litter size is the largest of any

canid, averaging ten pups, which remain at the

den for around three months. Outside of the

breeding season, Wild Dogs cover vast home

ranges. They are primarily crepuscular, with

most hunting taking place during the cooler

morning and late afternoon hours.

Wild Dogs are very vocal and have a wide

range of calls, including the unmistakable

long-range “hoo” call which is used to unite

pack members after they are separated in the

hunt.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Wild Dogs were once distributed

throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with the

exception of forests and extreme deserts.

Today Wild Dogs have disappeared from

much of their former range; virtually

eradicated from West Africa, greatly

reduced in central Africa and north-east

Africa. The largest populations remain in

southern Africa and the southern part of

East Africa. Their current distribution is very

fragmented.

Population densities in well-studied

areas suggest that approximately 5,500

free-ranging Wild Dogs remain in Africa,

with numbers currently stable. Fewer

than 450 individuals survive in South

Africa with numbers increasing due to

conservation efforts to expand their range.

WHY ARE WILD DOGS THREATENED?

In South Africa, the Wild Dog is listed as

Endangered due to ongoing threats, conflict with

human activities and because the population

is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature

individuals. Wild Dogs need large home

ranges, therefore habitat fragmentation has led to

population declines. Also Wild Dogs have a

mistaken reputation for attacking livestock, and

therefore are often persecuted by humans.

Recently, road accidents and incidental

snaring have become major threats to this species.

They are also threatened by infectious diseases,

especially canine distemper and rabies.

WHAT IS THE EWT DOING TO CONSERVE THE

WILD DOG?

The African Wild Dog is the flagship species of the

EWT’s Carnivore Conservation Programme (EWT-

CCP). Conservation activities have included long-

term monitoring in the Kruger National Park, as

well as a proactive reintroduction programme to

establish a managed metapopulation in medium-

sized reserves throughout South Africa. The EWT

recently launched the ‘Kruger Rare Carnivore

Program’, which works to investigate threats to

Wild Dogs and factors affecting their numbers and

movement in the Greater Kruger ecosystem.

The KZN Wild Dog project, launched in 2006,

aims to expand the range of Wild Dogs through

northern KZN through identification of

appropriate land and linkages, incorporation of

these into Wild Dog spatial range, and the fostering

of supportive farming and rural communities. The

EWT is also developing a Biodiversity Management

Plan for Cheetahs and Wild Dogs, which will be

incorporated into legislation.