The saga of the African Painted Dog Den in 2024 will be remembered for many years to come. The initial excitement of learning that a pack of three had chosen a den site on Londolozi was huge because it’s the first time African Painted Dogs have denned here since 2021. After waiting for four weeks to let the dogs establish their den in a large termite mound in the southern region of the reserve, the guiding team slowly began viewing the area from a safe distance. We quickly learnt that the pack were raising three little pups that were growing strong and healthy.

Two adults of the pack pay a visit to the pup outside of the den.

What happened next left the most seasoned wild dog experts in awe. The Toulon Pack, a group of seven painted dogs moved towards the area of the den and proceeded to adopted/steal the pups from the pack of three. This is behaviour that has been recorded in free-roaming painted dogs albeit in very rare instances.

Adoption is the parental care of unrelated young in species able to recognise their own offspring.

Adoption in Painted Dogs can take either of two forms:

1. a single-sex group joins an unrelated opposite sex group with dependent pups to form a new pack,
2. or an existing pack with or without natal pups provides parental care to unrelated pups.

As we only see free-roaming painted dogs in the Sabi Sands and surrounding Kruger National Park, the second form of adoption is what we have witnessed.

One pup glances across to the trail on which the adults leave the den area to go and hunt.

Adoption is common among humans, who may decide to raise someone else’s child for a range of reasons, including fertility struggles or the wish to provide a home for children in need. But why do wild animals find the need to adopt the young of others?

Let’s discuss the potential factors that led the pack of seven to adopt non-biological pups:

The act of caring for an unrelated young probably emerged because it confers an evolutionary advantage on the adults in the pack. For example, the adoption of the three young pups may provide valuable caregiving experience for females that lack offspring and increase their future young’s survival chances.

In the case of the Toulon Pack, it is a fact that the Alpha female has not fallen pregnant for the last two mating seasons which leads us to believe she considered adoption of the three pups as an evolutionary reflex. Maternal instinct took over as she’d be conscious if she cannot grow the numbers of the pack within a couple of years then the pack will effectively become less efficient and prone to diminishing. Without breeding in new members, the pack will start to lose speed, agility and strength which is critical in their hunting endeavours.

Having adopted the three pups from another pack, watching them care for them is truly fascinating. Shortly after this moment the adults got up and moved away from the den.

Pups Age

The age of the pups at adoption was a vital factor. Although this may have just been a coincidence, they were five weeks old at the time and old enough to be moved to a new den site and completely weaned off their mothers milk. Therefore, the Alpha female of the pack of seven didn’t need to produce milk and therefore required less energy when raising the adopted pups.

Numbers side of things

There were only three pups to be adopted and not more, which could lead to intra specific competition by having too many members.

Hormonal Factor

Another factor could be the influence of mating hormones in the Alpha male and female. As they are seasonal breeders, their hormones naturally will kick in during the winter months and this may have lead to them naturally to want to care for and raise the pups. The chances of two packs of wild dogs overlapping in a home range during denning season is very low and so the opportunity to care for young pups was unexpected but it has been made clear that the pack of seven are raising the pups like their own.

Diversifying the Gene Pool

Genetic diversity and the introduction of male pups is a potential upside of adoption. The strengthening of the gene pool by having foreign male genes incorporated into the pack from a young age may have a positive impact on the future reproductive success of the Toulon Pack. But I guess a question that would still require answering, is:

“How likely would any of these new pups be to become the alpha within this pack?”

Increased chances of Survival for pups

Lastly, the value for the pups should also be considered. The pack of three were under pressure as the parents were under strain. One of the males was injured which left a single member of the pack to hunt and provide for the whole pack, including pups. The odds of their survival looked very slim from the start. Therefore it can be viewed as a blessing in disguise that the bigger pack adopted the pups, fed them daily and cared for them in a critical stage of their development hopefully increasing their chances of survival.

In a nutshell, there is definitely a multitude of factors that have led to the adoption of the three pups by the Toulon Pack and I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the incredible dynamics and instinctual parenting behaviour unfold at the Painted Dog Den on Londolozi. As it stands now, the pack have abandoned the den since the pups are now old enough to move with the adults. We believe that a coalition of lions moved through the area of the den site which led the Alpha Male and Female to make the decision to move to a safer region in their home range with all the pups. Hopefully, we get to see these pups again and for now we wish them well on their onward journey.