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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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Clever
hunters with stamina comparable to that of marathon
athletes, the African Wild Dog employs such hunting tactics
as chasing a prey in relays, or even blocking the prey's potential
escape routes. Related to the domestic dog -and only species
in its genus, Lycaon- African Wild Dogs inhabit the scrub
savanna and lightly wooded areas. 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 are very difficult to find in the Masai
Mara National Reserve, as the local population is quite small.
Actually, the current estimate for remaining wild dogs in
the wild is approximately 5,600, the majority living in the
two remaining large populations: the first 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.
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 Masai
Mara Animals
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