African wild dog

African wild dog

African wild dog (scientific name: Lycaon pictus ): body length 100 cm, tail length 30-45 cm, weight 17-36 kg. The hair color is messy, including black, yellow and white, etc. The hair color of each individual is different. Forelimbs have no claws. The premolars are large and can grind large bones, similar to hyenas . Living in groups, positioning through calls. Hunting medium-sized hoofed animals by group cooperation, the chase speed can reach 45 kilometers per hour. It can be reproduced throughout the year, mostly in the rainy season. It produces 2-19 cubs per litter, usually 10 cubs. The cubs are usually born in the nests of other animals (such as coyotes ), and are sexually mature in 12-18 months.

It is distributed in grasslands, bushes and sparse woodlands in Africa, mainly found in parts of eastern and southern Africa. Due to the large area of ​​African wild dogs, with the reduction of habitat and the competition of other large carnivores, their number continues to decline and is in an endangered state. There are only 25 populations, about 3,000, and the Royal Zimbabwe State in western Zimbabwe The park is its protected area and is listed in the red directory IUNC Endangered. 

Name	African wild dog	Suborder	Cleftfoot
Latin name	Lycaon pictus	Section	Canine
nickname	African Hound , Tricolor Jackal, African Wild Dog	Subfamily	Serval subfamily
boundary	animal world	Genus	African wild dog
door	Notochords	Species	African wild dog
Asia Gate	Vertebrate subphylum	subspecies	5 subspecies
Gang	Mammalia	Name and year	Temminck, 1820
Subclass	True Beast	English name	African Wild Dog
Mesh	Carnivora	English name	Painted Hunting Dog
		English name	Cape Hunting Dog

 Morphological characteristics

The adult African wild dog weighs 18-34 kg, has a length of 85–141 cm, and a tail of 30-45 cm. The difference between the sexes is not large, the male is about 3-7% larger than the female. African wild dogs in southern Africa are usually larger than eastern and western bodies. The coat color of African wild dogs is obviously different from other canines. Their coats are peculiar and gorgeous.The markings of each African wild dog are unique like zebras. No two spots are exactly the same, so It can be easily identified by color spots. There are brown, red, black, yellow, and white areas on their bodies, just like a painter's random application of colors. Their fur is short and sparse, and some are even bare. But generally speaking, they have darker head tones and white hair on their tails. The ears are large and round, and usually stand upright on the top of the head. The body is slim, the long legs are muscular, and each foot has four toes. The African wild dog is the only canine animal with no upper paws on its forelimbs . 

The African wild dog has a total of 42 teeth (the specific distribution is: (i= 3/3; c=1/1; p=4/4; m=2/3x2), the premolar teeth are relatively larger than other canines, so It can grind a lot of bones, which is very similar to hyena . 

Habitat

Mainly living in the dry grasslands and semi-desert areas of Africa, active in grasslands, savanna and open dry bushes, even including some mountainous areas in the southern Sahara desert. African wild dogs have never been active in the jungle. 

Lifestyle

Territory

The territories of African wild dogs range in size from 200 to 2000 square kilometers. In the past when there were a lot of them, each community had about 40 members, and the largest community ever recorded had 100 members. Generally, the adult members of each community are about 7-15, ruled by a pair of leaders. There are often fewer females than males in the community. Most females do not leave the colony for life, and about half of males do the same. The social structure and behavior patterns of these animals are very unique. They are good at cooperating, they will take care of sick or injured companions, and even like puppies, healthy members will give ruminants half-digested meat to those who are sick, and the nanny who takes care of children will be treated the same. Generally speaking, the African wild dog group is peaceful, but female leaders sometimes break out of the war with the female dogs under their command to compete for breeding rights. 

 

Hunting

African wild dogs cooperate in hunting. They are led by male leaders and hunt in the territory. Prey that can prey twice their weight include antelopes, wildebeests and zebras. They hunt mainly in the morning and in the middle of the night. If the moonlight is bright, they will even be busy all night. African wild dog hunting depends on sight rather than smell. They will chase after they find their prey. Their maximum speed reaches 55 km/h until their prey is exhausted. African wild dogs hate hyenas the most, often killing individual hyenas. 

Communication

African wild dogs communicate with each other in various ways. Just like other members of the canine family, they use smell (smell), sound and posture (body language) to communicate. They have a very strong smell. Presumably, this makes it easy to detect other team members in the distance. Unlike other canines, African wild dogs do not need to mark the site with urine except during the mating season. When the two wild dogs approached and touched each other, they would make a low-pitched cooing sound, and they used roaring to express their anger at the other wild dog. The cub made a high-pitched whine trying to make other group members notice themselves.

Ethnic group

African wild dogs are cooperative hunting animals and live a close group life. Each group has a pair of leading dogs that can breed. They mark the territory with urine. Life expectancy is about 10 years. They are led by male leaders and hunt in the territory. The female leader does not allow other females in the group to breed, and female African wild dogs take turns taking care of newborn puppies. They behave much like puppies, they generally accept it in reverse, and rarely domineering. They will lick their lips, lie on their backs, keep their ears flat and nag instead of making eye contact. If you meet with fangs, erect the tail, or a tail-pointing posture, these have the intention of ambushing other wild dogs. No stalking threats were found within the wild dog's family. It is very rare if there is a physical conflict that causes serious fighting. At this time, if one party tries to grab the other wild dog's throat, the other party will grab the ground and play dead until the other party gives up. 

 

Food

African wild dogs generally feed on medium-sized ungulates , such as antelopes . Similar to other canines, they generally track their prey for long periods of time, and can reach a speed of 45 mph when chasing. African wild dogs in the group are located by barking. After getting their prey, they will take it back to their nest and distribute it to puppies , bitches, and other similarly old and sick. African wild dogs are all excellent hunters. When wild dogs chase their prey, they do not rely on stealth to sneak attack , which is different from most cat members. Group members use pronunciation to help coordinate actions and track. Their voice characteristics are similar to bird sounds. It is an unusual low roar or chirp. After a successful hunting, the full-fledged wild dog will bring the meat back to vomit out to those in the group. Companions guarding or nurturing in the nest eat. These include sick or injured wild dogs and old wild dogs that are too old to keep up with the group. 

Distribution range

Distributed in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Possible extinction: Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Togo, Uganda.

Regional extinctions: Burundi, Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Swaziland. 

Reproduction

African wild dogs live a close group life, and each group has a pair of bred dogs that mark their territory with urine. Life expectancy is about 10 years. Female leaders do not allow other females in the group to breed, and they may even take the pups of other female dogs. Female African wild dogs will take turns taking care of newborn puppies. It can reproduce at any time of the year. The peak period is the second half of the rainy season, which is from March to July every year. Pregnancy takes about 10 weeks, and the number of puppies varies from 2-20. The reproductive intermittent period is 12-14 months. If all cubs die, it can be shortened to 6 months. The cubs are usually born in the nests of other animals (such as coyotes ), and the weaning period is 10 weeks. After 3 months, the puppy will start going out. 8-11 months old will be able to prey on its own, 12-18 months to reach sexual maturity.

Subspecies differentiation

Traditional classification

African wild dog (5 subspecies)

Serial No.	Name	Scientific Name	Name and year
1.	African wild dog East African subspecies	Lycaon pictus lupinus	Thomas, 1902
2.	African wild dog West African subspecies	Lycaon pictus manguensis	Matschie, 1915
3.	African wild dog named subspecies	Lycaon pictus pictus	Temminck, 1820
4.	African wild dog Central African subspecies	Lycaon pictus sharicus	Thomas & Wroughton, 1907
5.	African wild dog Somali breed	Lycaon pictus somalicus	Thomas, 1904

 Latest classification

　　African wild dogs (2 subgroups)　

Serial No.	Name	Scientific Name
1.	African wild dog North African subgroup	Lycaon pictus (North Africa subpopulation)
2.	African Wild Dog West African Subgroup	Lycaon pictus (West Africa subpopulation)

Population status

Due to the large area of ​​African wild dogs, the number of African wild dogs has been declining and is in an endangered state with the reduction of habitat and competition from other large predators. Mainly distributed in eastern and southern parts of Africa, there are only 25 populations in 39 countries in Africa, about 3,000. An African wild dog sanctuary has been established in Africa, mainly located in the Royal Sun National Park in western Zimbabwe .