African Wild Dog Facts…
Social Behavior
The African Wild Dogs are very clever and social. They live in large packs and are not aggressive towards each other, either for territory, mates or food. There is a dominating alpha male and female in the pack. If one of these alphas were to die, a new one would replace it without bloodshed, since most dogs within a pack are related in some way or other, mainly the males. In wild dog packs it is the female that migrates from their biological pack and join other packs.
Pups
Only the alpha couple reproduces, perhaps to avoid overcrowding the pack. The adult female has 12-14 teats and usually delivers around 2-19 pups at a time. The pups have very low survival rates because of diseases, predators and various other reasons. The whole pack takes on the responsibility of raising and protecting the young. The pups get the first share of the meals.
African Wild Dogs Hunting
Wild dogs are very efficient hunters owing to their excellent coordination. They pursue their prey at great speeds and for great distances. While one dog attacks the upper lip or nose of the target another seizes the tail. The other dogs of the hunt will aim to disembowel, i.e. remove the internal organs, of the victim. They will tear at the animals flesh until it falls and will even eat it alive. Needless to say they are bloodthirsty and ferocious hunters, and the unlucky victim won’t likely have a chance at escaping.
Endangered
Lions frequently attempt to kill the adults and pups, but they don’t eat them – lions see the wild dogs as competition for prey. Loss of habitat and trouble from poachers has categorized them as “endangered”.
African wild dogs are featured in the following books:
25 Most Deadly Animals in the World
101 Facts… Wild Dogs, Wolves and Foxes!
The YouTube video below is a collection of videos about African Wild Dogs. The list of videos featured is underneath.
The Playlist:
- HYENA vs AFRICAN WILD DOG by Lesley Smith
- African Safari: Hyenas vs Wild Dogs by Trisha Stovel
- The Big Fight – Wild dogs and hyaenas by wildcastr
- Wild dogs attack Hyena trying to steal their food by Garrett Lyons
- Wild Dog Kill and Leopard by petts1
- Wild Kingdom- Wild Dogs Hunting by Animal Planet
- Wild dogs and leopard by tinuslr1960
