The African painted dog (Lycaon pictus) is a creature of remarkable complexity. Known for their intricate social structure, cooperative hunting, and vocal communications, these animals have long fascinated wildlife researchers and guides alike. Yet for years, one key question remained unanswered: how do painted dogs communicate using scent over the enormous distances they roam?

When the BioBoundary project was initiated in 2008, there were still significant gaps in our understanding of this unique form of communication. As Dr. Peter Apps, one of the project’s lead researchers, put it, “We knew that packs had to be communicating by odours in urine and faeces, but not how they do it – how do packs that range over hundreds of square kilometres even find one another’s scent marks?”

The Scented Language of Painted Dogs

Painted dogs rely heavily on olfactory communication. Every scent they leave behind is a message—sometimes to their own pack, sometimes to strangers. But what exactly are they saying?

Urine Marking

One of the most prominent ways they communicate is by urinating on trees, shrubs, rocks, and even on the road. Each dog’s urine has a unique chemical signature that can convey identity, social status, and sexual availability. Because painted dogs cover vast ranges, these markers act like signposts for other packs—or even lone dispersing individuals—moving through the same area.

Faeces Marking

Like many carnivores, painted dogs also use scat to mark territory. They tend to defecate in prominent places—on roads, near waterholes, at junctions—places where others are likely to pass by. I’ve often noticed while guiding, that they defecate right on the road. Since these roads serve as easy pathways for other animals too, the chances of a scent message being picked up are greatly increased. These dung piles become visual and olfactory bulletin boards.

Glandular Secretions and Rubbing

Painted dogs also have scent glands on their feet and around their anal area. Sometimes they scratch the ground or rub against objects, leaving behind more subtle scent cues. You’ll even see them rolling in each other’s urine or scat—almost like they’re wearing each other’s smell. Whether this is to strengthen group cohesion or mark themselves with the scent of a territory, we can only guess. But the behaviour is unmistakably deliberate.

The Role of Vocalisation

While this blog focuses on scent, it’s worth noting that painted dogs are also very vocal animals. They use a variety of sounds—yelps, squeaks, and a haunting “hoo-call”—to communicate. Often, vocal signals accompany scent marking, especially when calling the pack together or warning intruders to stay away. It’s a multi-sensory system of communication.

Why Scent Matters

Scent marking isn’t just about claiming turf. It’s a deeply social act.

Territorial markings help packs avoid direct conflict. When one pack comes across another’s scent, they often steer clear rather than risk a fight. But scent also plays a key role within the pack. Higher-ranking individuals tend to mark more frequently and in more visible spots, reinforcing the social hierarchy. During the breeding season, females in oestrus may leave more concentrated scent trails, which males then follow—making scent a subtle matchmaker in the wild.

The Discovery That Changed Everything

In 2015, while monitoring a dispersing group of painted dogs, one of the BioBoundary field researchers noticed something curious. The group stopped at a road junction and began intensely sniffing and marking the same spot where another pack had left their scent ten days earlier.

Intrigued, the researchers set up camera traps at that site. What they uncovered was groundbreaking: multiple neighbouring packs—up to four different ones—were regularly visiting and marking the same small location, a patch no more than 15 to 20 metres wide. These weren’t random sites. They were intentional, repeated, and used by different groups over time.

These came to be known as Shared Marking Sites.

Shared Marking Sites: Nature’s Social Network

These Shared Marking Sites turned our understanding of painted-dog communication on its head. Instead of relying on scent trails scattered across their entire range, packs were concentrating their messages in these tight, strategic hubs—like communal billboards in the bush.

And it wasn’t just established packs. Dispersing individuals—those leaving their natal packs to form new ones—were also frequenting these spots. The researchers likened it to a kind of “Dating site for painted dogs.” Individuals would leave their scent, advertising their availability to form new packs, and in turn, they’d sniff out who else might be in the area and interested.

mate

We’ve witnessed this first-hand out in the field: dogs from one pack coming across the scent of another and enthusiastically rolling in it, then urinating frantically on top. It’s a mixture of curiosity, dominance, and maybe even flirtation. There’s something wonderfully raw and real about these interactions—a bushveld bulletin board full of intentions and stories.

Interestingly, this concept is not entirely unique in the animal kingdom. Rhinos use middens—communal dung heaps—to mark territory and share information. But painted dogs are far more socially dynamic in how they engage with these spaces.

Scent and Conservation: The BioBoundary Approach

This discovery hasn’t just changed our understanding—it’s had a real conservation impact.

Knowing where these key scent hubs allow conservationists to protect areas critical to painted dog communication and social organisation. It also opens the door to more innovative management techniques. One of the most exciting is the use of synthetic scent compounds developed by the BioBoundary team. By creating chemical blends that mimic the scent of rival packs, researchers have successfully influenced painted dog movement.

Spraying these artificial scents along fence lines or near conflict zones has helped reduce human-wildlife conflict by deterring packs from venturing into farmland or out of protected reserves. It’s like putting up a “No Trespassing” sign—written in painted dog language.

Scent as a Lifeline

Painted dog scent marking is no longer just about staking territory—it’s a rich, multi-layered communication system that shapes every aspect of their social lives. From maintaining pack cohesion to finding mates and avoiding danger, their scent messages are essential to their survival.

Thanks to the work of the BioBoundary project, we now understand just how connected these animals are—despite the huge distances they travel. And the more we learn, the more we realise that conservation isn’t just about space—it’s about connection. About ensuring that the hidden threads tying animals together—like a drop of urine on a dusty road—are not broken.

There’s still so much more to uncover. But every discovery like this brings us one step closer to protecting not just the species, but the stories they tell… one scent at a time.