Wild Dog
(Lycaon Pictus)
- Height 76cm
- Weight 25 – 30kg
- Breeding Litter of 12+
- Gestation 2 Months
- Longevity 10 - 12 Years
The Wild Dog is the most successful predator in Africa; they catch 85% of the animals they actually chase. However, despite their success in hunting, numbers of Wild Dog are drastically low and they are verging on extinction, with an estimate of only 4,000 left in the world.
They should be one of the most successful species on the planet;
prolific hunter of the most abundant mammals (antelope and zebra),
living in large packs, rearing the largest litters of any carnivore,
up 
to 18 pups at a time, and with only a 2 month gestation period.
However it is experts’ belief that Wild Dogs are highly susceptible
to canine diseases, such as distemper and rabies and this is the
foremost reason for their drastic decline.
Wild Dogs are a diurnal animal with a strict social behaviour. A pack will have a communal breeding burrow, which, when accommodating pups, will see the community working together to bring back food, which they regurgitate for the young.
Speed, endurance and leadership are key to the success of their hunting. The approach for each hunt depends on the particular terrain. However the pack leader normally selects the prey and starts to run it down, the remainder of the pack following closely, showing great restraint not to take down any quarry that might cross their path. The chase normally ends with the Wild Dog out running the prey. If the prey is something the size of a small antelope then the first dog to overtake it will bowl it over or grab a hind leg and throw it to the ground. Within a minute it is dismembered as other dogs grab hold and yank in opposite directions. When the quarry is the size of the large antelope, wildebeest or zebra, then the pack works as a group to bring it down. They then proceed to pull out its internal organs. Victims hardly ever put up a fight; already exhausted when caught; apparently they go into deep shock, a state in which they seem to feel no pain.
Seeing a pack of Wild Dog on safari is a true joy to behold, and considering their decline, it’s an experience possibly not to be witnessed by many more visitors to come.
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