Facts about the Wild Dog -- Lycaon pictus:

SIZE: Shoulder height 70 cm, weight 27 kg. Wild dogs are the size of a large dog.

COLOUR: Blotches of black, white and yellow-brown over the whole body. Lower face is dark brown with a dark stripe down the centre of the forehead. Wild Dogs have a white tail tip and large rounded ears.

SENSES: Wild Dogs have a well-developed sense of hearing and smell.

SOUNDS / CALLS: The sounds that wild dog make are twitters, yips and barking.

LIFESPAN / POTENTIAL LONGEVITY: The lifespan of wild dogs in the wild is about 10 to12 years, and a few years longer in captivity.

REPRODUCTION & GESTATION PERIOD: After a gestation of about 70 days 2 to 8 pups are usually born. Young pups are susceptible to diseases and the mortality rate is high. Both males and females take care of the young, regurgitating food for them. The pups follow the adults out of the den when they are about 10 to 12 weeks old, and are left to their fate if unable to keep up.

MOST LIKE: Black Backed and Side-Striped Jackal, but neither of these jackal species has the wild dog's blotched or spotted coat. Wild dogs differ slightly too domestic dogs.

HABITAT: Wooded to open savannah are preferred as habitat, but wild dogs can also be found in mountainous and semi-desert regions. Wild Dogs presence in fairly arid areas indicates that they are not completely dependent on a regular water supply.

SOCIAL HABITS: Pack sizes vary from 8 to 11, but much larger packs have been noted. There seem to be a larger ratio of males to females, which is beneficial as the males hunt when females have young to look after. Wild Dogs do not have a rigid hierarchy, and fights are rare. Because they roam over hundreds of square kilometres, they are not territorial.

DIET / FEEDING HABITS: Impala consist of about 80% of the wild dogs’ prey, which they kill by tearing it apart. Wild Dogs need about 4kg of meat a day to supply enough energy to hunt and move around. When possible they kill every day. Although they prefer the fresh meat of their own kill, they will scavenge if need be. Wild Dogs will attack old, weak lions or even smaller predators when hungry.

HUNTING HABITS: The Wild Dogs strategy to hunt down prey is to have 1 or 2 dogs chasing, while the others trail until the prey starts zigzagging, enabling them to cut it off for the kill. Distances of pursuit can vary up to 3 km or more. The success rate of kills depends on the terrain and whether the prey is adult or calves, lambs and disabled animal. When attacking large prey, old injured or sick animals are selected. When hunting they can achieve a speed of up to 50 km per hour. The Wild Dogs usual hunting time is early morning and late afternoon, and occasionally on moonlight nights.

ENEMIES / MORTALITY: Old or disabled dogs, as well as young pups separated from the pack, often become prey to hyenas. Wild Dogs will try to avoid confrontation with human beings unless very hungry.

DISTRIBUTION: A number of game parks are home to the wild dog. They used to be found throughout the savannah areas of Africa but are now extinct in many parts. The wild dog is more prolific in the southern area of the Kruger National Park.

DISTRIBUTION MAP:

WHERE FOUND:
Kruger National Park (South Africa)
Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa)
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi National Park
Kalahari Gemsbok National Park