Many people arrive in Africa for their first safari and do not know of the African wild dog. Each time it surprises me when I hear, “I have never heard of them”. We get this response so frequently that it made me want to bring some attention to the topic. People should, if they are interested in African animals, know about African wild dogs. Raised awareness of what the animal is and what the challenges to its species are, the better its chances of survival.
An African wild dog pup looks up at its sibling.
Wild dogs are fierce hunters and will run their prey to exhaustion, sometimes biting its flanks and backside to slow it down as they chase.
A pup on one of its first expeditions away from the safety of the den.
The first thing I tell guests is that the African wild dog is the rarest large carnivore in southern Africa. I tell them that they are highly endangered with only between 3000 and 5000 wild dogs left in the wild.
It is well known that wild dogs will tear their prey apart, therefore killing it quickly as it dies from a loss of blood and massive physical trauma.
I also say that they are the most successful hunters of any predators in the area; they hunt nearly every day and kill about four of every five attempts at a hunt. Cheetahs, lions and leopards usually kill at a rate of 3 or 4 of every ten attempts, if that.
Because they have an extremely fast metabolism, wild dogs need between 2-4 kgs of meat a day (which is more like a large predator); therefore the pack will kill on average one medium sized antelope each day!
I tell guests that they are highly social and can live in a pack of up to 50 animals. An alpha male and female pair breed and all the other pack members share the responsibilities of looking after the young, sentry duty, keeping the den clean, providing food and running off predators. They have a family unit that is essential to the survival of each individual.
Wild dogs have brilliant hearing… look at the paddle shaped ears!
I relay that a pack of wild dogs needs space and in the Greater Kruger National Park they need between 260 and 930 square kilometres for a home range. So if you see a pack of wild dogs of any size, you are seeing a sizeable percentage of the 400 in the entire Kruger Park.
Wild dogs will drink as often as they can but can go days without water. They are also sometimes seen lying in shallow pools to keep cool.
Their biggest threats are habitat loss (as mentioned previously they need a large area to survive in), chance encounters with diseased domestic dogs that might sneak into a reserve, or even extermination by farmers in fear for their livestock.
Getting caught in traps set by poachers for other animals has also impacted their numbers over the years. These reasons are hard to hear and difficult to process, but this is the reality and I feel it is important that people are aware of the difficulties this species faces.
African wild dogs are intelligent, social, strategic and beautiful to observe. If you do happen to see some, know how lucky you are!
Despite being inconsistent, sightings at Londolozi are not infrequent. We will regularly have a pack on the reserve for a few days before they disappear again, roaming their vast home range before once more appearing, just as suddenly as they left.
Wild dogs are one of the most interesting species to observe! We love watching them interact. They are very playful with each other, but when they hunt, they are all business!!! Intriguing animals. Beautiful photos,
Bruce!
Hi Darlene thank you for the comment! I agree with you in that watching the pack interact is one of the most fascinating things to observe. The adults make it tough for the youngsters but it all benefits them in the end; they learn how to stick up from themselves as adults when hyenas and other threats are around!
We were fortunate to see a pack of wild dogs (including a bunch of pups) during our visit to Londolozi. You can really see that sense of community among the pack. The adults fed (quite a unique feeding technique), played and really looked after the inquisitive pups. A leopard came near the pack and was promptly chased up a tree! Quite a viewing.
Gregg that is a rare, almost once in a lifetime sighting; I’m glad you were able to see something like that here!
Good blog! I’ve always enjoyed observing these dogs and whilst they are very social, once a prey has been taken down, it’s every dog for himself!!
Thanks very much Denise!
A really interesting blog Bruce and thanks for sharing with us. These animals are beautiful and have fought great odds to survive. Not pleasant watching them on a kill, however, as you point out, it is quick and over in seconds. Love the social aspect of their packs and they all work together for their survival. Thanks again, really enjoyed the pics and your explanation.
Leonie thank you very much, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and story!
They are fabulous to watch and they are highlighted in the new BBC wildlife series Dynasties. I could not believe the intricacies of a wild dog hunt until Simon Smit’s incredible driving over the three kilometres through bush and plain culminated in the spectacle of wild dogs eating on the banks of the sand river. Amazing driving.
Sad that many first time visitors are not aware of these amazing animals, whereas for many frequent visitors they are pretty much top of the tick list. They are certainly very high on my list
Apart from the caracal
It’s scary how many people don’t know about wild dogs! I was recently at a talk hosted by Gerry Van Der Walt who said that when he shows a picture of a wild dog to an American audience, the majority of the room more often than note calls it a hyena!
Yes, that happens all too often on the vehicle! Hopefully we can raise the awareness of tourists over time.
Hopefully! The more people that know, the sooner that the wild dog becomes more recognisable than a hyena (and people will notice the obvious size and posture differences)!
Good story!
This is a wonderful article, thank you very much. We need to find these beauties next time I am there! Which is not soon enough 🙂
Next time we will do our level best to find them for you Nicki! Looking forward to it!
I love wild dogs…seeing them is always a delight. Thanks for the insightful writing!
Thank you Susan!
Thanks for the further education, Bruce!
There have been packs 50 strong? Wow! Is the reason they need such large home ranges that there isn’t enough suitable prey in an area the size of say Londolozi? or they the prey becomes wary or moves off in response to their presence if they stay too long? or something else?
A large pack needs a vast area to roam in with enough prey in that home range. Buy nature they do not mark a territory in the same way that lions and leopards do. The home range size problem comes from there not being enough land for them to operate within. What we need is more natural protected land for these animals to roam!
Thanks Bruce! I hope I can see some wild dogs one day. One for my wish list at the moment.
We’ve been fortunate enough to see them on all of our trips. Our most interesting experience, however, was in Botswana where we went for a thrill ride in the vehicle as we followed them pursuing impala. Breathtaking ride and ferocious ending as described.
Good post and it’s spot on. I am a wildlife fanatic since as early as I can remember and it stuns me how many people go on safari and have no idea about the African Wild Dog even to the point where one lady, after we had done our mad as hell drive following hunting Wild Dogs asked…….is it unusual to see them?
Thanks Brian, great story! It has happened to me a number of times as well. Let’s hope it changes!
Thank you, Bruce! These “Painted Dogs” are indeed beautiful animals with their own, very distinctive, colouring. I heard somewhere recently that they are not of the same species as our dometic dogs but have their own zoological genus. Is this true? We have NEVER seen Wild Dogs in all our many years of being in the Bush! We are green with envy when we hear about other people’s sightings! Wendy M
Hi Wendy, I hope you see them next time! That just shows how rare they are! And yes, the wild dog and domestic dog cannot interbreed and the wild dog cannot be domesticated. They both descended from wolves but have taken very different evolutionary paths.
Wild dogs are my favourite predators. It is so special to see them in the wild. We are fortunate to see them at least once a year. We’ve got to raise awareness as they are critically endangered. Well written blog Bruce.