With large, rounded ears, colorful patches on their fur, and bushy tails, African wild dogs may look like they’d make cute pets. But don’t be fooled. African wild dogs, as the name suggests, are wild, and they are highly effective killers.
African wild dogs roam the savanna, woodlands, scrublands, and mountainous areas of sub-Saharan Africa. They are very social animals, living and hunting in packs.
Are African Wild Dogs a Type of Dog?
Also known as the painted dog, painted wolf, and Cape hunting dog, you may think the African wild dog is a type of dog or wolf. However, African wild dogs are actually not closely related to domestic dogs, wolves, or coyotes, which belong to the genus, Canis.
African wild dogs are classified in their own genus, Lycaon, though they do belong to the larger canine family, which includes foxes and dholes.
They differ from other canines in that they have four toes per foot instead of five.
Social Life
An African wild dog pack typically consists of 7-15 members, though it could be as large as 40. The group is led by a dominant male and female, who are monogamous for life.
There is very little aggression within the pack. And in fact, African wild dogs take great care of other pack members, tending to the young, old, and injured, and making sure everyone has food.
They communicate with each other with a variety of sounds, including short barks, whining, tittering, howls, and owl-like calls.
What African Wild Dogs Eat
African wild dogs eat gazelles and other antelopes, warthogs, and wildebeests. They supplement their diet with rats and birds.
How African Wild Dogs Hunt
African wild dogs are highly effective hunters. In fact, four out of five chases end up in a kill.
Their high success rate comes from working together as a team. Before going on a hunt, African wild dogs take a vote. Do they want to keep resting or do they want to hunt? They vote by sneezing. If the majority of wild dogs sneeze, then they prepare for the hunt.
When the prey is spotted, one of the dogs starts running and forces the prey into a stampede. African wild dogs can run as fast as 70 km/h (44 mph).
Once the herd is running, it becomes clear which animals are weakest and slowest. The African wild dogs single one out, and circle around it.
To protect from getting stabbed by the prey’s horns, some of the wild dogs bite the animal’s hindquarters and some attack the animal’s mouth, pulling its head down. Then the others attack the animal’s midsection.
The hunters all eat cooperatively. Back at the den, they regurgitate the meat for pups and nursing mothers.
Are African Wild Dogs Related to Hyenas?
African wild dogs and hyenas share a lot of similarities. They both eat meat, hunt in packs, and live in Africa. They both have brownish fur and large upright ears. However, African wild dogs and hyenas are not related.
African wild dogs are canines. Compared to hyenas, they are more agile and slender. Their ears are more rounded. They have distinctive black, brown, white and yellow patches on their coats. Their tails have white tips.
Hyenas are their own kind of carnivore. They’re not in the canine family. They have bigger necks and longer front legs than back legs. This gives them more of a hunched look.
Their ears are pointier, and their fur is shaggier than African wild dogs. They may be a solid brown color or have spots or stripes on their coats, depending on the species.
Reproduction
In an African wild dog pack, only the dominant pair breeds. The female gives birth to a litter of 10-12 pups in their den, which is typically an old aardvark or warthog burrow.
The entire pack, males and females, care for the pups by bringing them food, babysitting, and standing guard.
African wild dogs live for 10-12 years. Predators include lions and humans.
Conservation Status
African wild dogs are listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List. There are only 6,600 left in the wild.
The main threat to African wild dogs is habitat fragmentation. A pack’s range can cover 1,448 km (900 mi.). They need large spaces to survive.
Other threats include rabies, canine distemper, and conflicts with humans.
What You Can Do to Help
If you would like to help African wild dogs, you can support initiatives to create wildlife corridors, which helps connect fragments of habitat.
You can support organizations like the African Wildlife Foundation, which works with communities on ways to protect their livestock. This cuts down on conflicts local communities have with African wild dogs who may prey on their livestock.
African Wild Dog Range
More African Wild Dog Resources
- African Wildlife Foundation: African Wild Dog
- National Geographic: African Wild Dog
- Kiniry, Laura. Natural Habitat Adventures. “What’s the Difference Between Hyenas and Wild Dogs?”
- PBS Nature: African Wild Dog Fact Sheet
- VIDEO: Nat Geo Wild: Killer Caretakers: Painted Dogs
- VIDEO: PBS Nature: African Wild Dogs Vote with Sneezes
Quick Fact Sheet
Common Name(s): African Wild Dog, Painted Dog, Painted Wolf, and Cape Hunting Dog
Scientific Name: Lycaon pictus
Animal Type: mammal
Size: 1 m (30-43 in.) long
Weight: 18-36 kg (40-79 lb.)
Lifespan: 10-12 years
Conservation Status: Endangered
About the Author
Abi Cushman is a contributing editor of Animal Fact Guide and My House Rabbit. When she's not writing about weird animal facts, Abi writes and illustrates funny books for kids. Her picture books, Soaked! and Animals Go Vroom!, are available now from Viking Children's Books.
To learn more and to download free activity sheets, visit www.abicushman.com. Follow her on Instagram at @Abi.Cushman.
