10 Interesting African Wild Dog Facts

Friday, April 21st 2017. | Animals


African Wild Dog Facts give us the interesting information about a canid indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa.  The common names include African painted dog, African hunting dog, painted wolf and Cape hunting dog. It has the biological name of Lycaon pictus.  African wild dog receives the special status for it is the sole extant member of Lycaon genus. It is different from Canis because of the hypercarnivorous diet, dentition and fewer toes. You will get other details about African wild dog by reading the below post:

African Wild Dog Facts 1: the classification status

IUCN classifies the African wild dog as an endangered species. There was an estimation related to the recent population of African wild dogs. The fully-grown ones are only 1,400 individuals from the 6,600 adults of 39 subpopulations.

African Wild Dog Facts 2: the causes of decreased population

The population of African wild dog is decreased over the years for various reasons such as human persecution, habitat loss and disease outbreak. Check facts about vampire bats here.

African Wild Dogs

African Wild Dogs

African Wild Dog Facts 3: the lifestyle

The male and females are separated through the dominance hierarchy. They live in pack due to their social nature.

African Wild Dog Facts 4: the natural predators

African wild dog only has few natural predators. Lion is considered as the major predator.

African Wild Dog

African Wild Dog

African Wild Dog Facts 5: the view of hunter-gatherer societies

The hunter-gathered societies viewed the African wild dogs with respect especially the San people and predynastic Egyptians. However, the animals have not received an important status in African folklore.

African Wild Dog Facts 6: the size

The weight of African wild dog, which lives in East Africa, is around 44 to 55 lb or 20 to 25 kilograms. The ones, which live in southern Africa, have the weight of 66 lb or 30 kilogram. Look at facts about Tasmanian devil here.

African Wild Dog Facts

African Wild Dog Facts

African Wild Dog Facts 7: the male and female

The males usually are 3 to 7 percent bigger than the female counterparts.

African Wild Dog Facts 8: the pack

African wild dogs live in a pack. It may consist of 2 until 27 adults. The females African wild dogs will be led by the oldest female. The breeding in the pack is monopolized by the dominant pair.

African Wild Dog Pic

African Wild Dog Pic

African Wild Dog Facts 9: habitat

African wild dog can be found living in a number of habitats such as arid zones and Savannah.

African Wild Dog Facts 10: open areas

African wild life likes to settle in open areas for it allows them to pursue the prey effectively.

Facts about African Wild Dog

Facts about African Wild Dog

Are you impressed after reading facts about African wild dogs?


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