Endangered Status of the African Wild Dog

The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is South Africa’s most endangered carnivore. It is estimated that fewer than 400 free-ranging wild dogs occur in South Africa – the large majority of which occur in the Kruger National Park. However, a recent census indicated that the Kruger wild dog population is less than half what it was in 1995, highlighting the need to set up further populations of wild dogs throughout the country.

Some Interesting Facts About Wild Dogs

Description

Wild dogs are slim, long-legged animals about the size of an Alsatian dog. Their short, coarse coats depict a combination of tan, black and white blotches that are unique to each individual – much like a zebra’s stripes, a dolphin’s dorsal fin, or human fingerprints. 

These pictures of the left-hand sides of three males from the Kruger National Park clearly show the variation in coat patterns among individuals.

This dappled appearance explains their scientific name, Lycaon pictus, which means “painted wolf-like animal”. Huge round ears contribute to their acute sense of hearing, and white-tipped tails provide a means of maintaining visual contact with each other. While the African wild dog is undeniably dog-like, this member of the Family Canidae is not as closely related to domestic dogs as one might first suppose. Wild dogs are the only existing representatives of a distinct lineage of wolf-like canids that split off from wolves and jackals more than three million years ago. For this reason wild dogs have a high conservation value – if they become extinct, the planet will lose unique genetic material.

Wild Dog Behaviour

Wild dogs are gregarious pack-living animals, spending almost all their time in close association with one another. Wild dog packs can contain anything from two to 50 individuals but are usually made up of between five and 20 animals. These packs are closely knit units that, like the wolf of the Northern Hemisphere, have a well-ordered hierarchy. Each pack contains a dominant, or alpha pair and it is usually only this pair that breeds. The remaining pack members help to care for the puppies by providing them with food and guarding. This care is vital if the pups are to survive.

When they are not denning, wild dogs cover enormous home ranges. Packs in the Kruger National Park cover an average of 550 square kilometres. One pack covered an area of 1,600 square kilometres in the space of 15 months. Verified reports show that on one occasion this same pack covered a straight-line distance of 35 kilometres in less than 24 hours.

Although they are the smallest of southern Africa’s five large predators (after lion, leopard, brown hyaena and cheetah) wild dogs are probably the most efficient hunters. Members of wild dog packs hunt cooperatively and this enables them to capture prey much larger than themselves. Hunts take place in the early mornings and late afternoons, and almost always start with a ‘social rally’ which is believed to coordinate the pack in preparation for hunting. African wild dogs are coursing predators – unlike the cats, which stalk their prey and rely on an element of surprise to make a kill. Once they single out a weak or injured animal in the herd wild dogs make no attempt to avoid detection but pursue the animal until it drops from exhaustion. 

Wild dogs kill their prey by disembowelling it. [Photographs: Magriet van Niekerk]

They have incredible endurance and may chase prey at speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour, for distances of up to five kilometres. During chases, the pack spaces itself around the fleeing animal so that a member of the pack can intercept the quarry as it turns. After this dog has made the first grab, other members of the pack rush in and help to drag the quarry to a halt. The prey – usually impala, duiker or kudu – is then disembowelled and rapidly consumed.

The Life Cycle of the African Wild Dog

In southern Africa the wild dog breeding cycle begins in February or March when the alpha female comes into oestrous. After a gestation period of about 70 days the female seeks a burrow in which to den. Very often this is a hole that has been abandoned by another animal – usually an aardvark, warthog or hyaena – but wild dogs have also been known to use man-made structures for their dens. Several packs in the Kruger National Park have made dens in road culverts, giving thousands of visitors a rare chance to see very young wild dog puppies.

In late May/early June, a litter of between 9 and 21 puppies is produced. For the first three weeks of their lives, wild dog puppies remain underground and exist entirely on their mother’s milk.

During this period the mother survives on meat that is regurgitated by other pack members when they return to the den after each hunt. At three weeks the puppies start to emerge from the den and begin to eat meat, and by 12 weeks they are completely weaned. After three months, the puppies become strong enough to move with the pack and the den is abandoned. Sometimes a second female – the beta female – also produces puppies, but her litter is almost always smaller than that of the alpha female, and the fate of these puppies is often uncertain.

New wild dog packs form when groups of the same sex break away from the pack in which they were born. This usually happens when juveniles reach at least two years of age – and have learned the necessary hunting skills to be able to survive on their own. These dispersers may travel distances of up to several hundred kilometres before they meet up with a group of the opposite sex from a different pack.... and a new pack is formed. Thus, in any newly formed pack the females and males are unrelated and inbreeding is avoided. As a result, the genetic status of the African wild dog remains healthy, despite the fact that populastion numbers are currently so low. 

 The Venetia Wild Dog Project

Project Objectives

The Venetia Wild Dog Project aims to establish a satelite population of wild dogs on Venetia-Limpopo Nature Reserve in the Northern Province. The project will not only help to increase the number of free-ranging wild dogs in South Africa, but will also provide the basis of a three-year monitoring programme in which hunting records, movement patterns, and other ecological factors will be examined in order to better understand the dynamics of the released pack.

The Venetia Wild Dog Pack

The Venetia wild dog pack started out as 10 wild dogs that were moved to a boma on the reserve in mid-2000. These comprised two wild-caught males, three captive-bred females, and five two-year olds that were dug out of a den and taken into captivity when they were just a few weeks old. While in the boma, one of the adult females died due to suspected snakebite, bringing the number down to 9 adults. However, shortly afterwards her sister - "Tan" - produced a litter of seven pups and the pack went up to a total of 16 animals. By January 2002, the puppies were deemed old enough and the pack was released into the reserve proper.

Prior to the release, five of the adults were fitted with radio-collars to assist researchers in finding the pack on a daily basis. This frequent tracking is important for two reasons: firstly to ensure that the pack has not escaped onto neighbouring farms where the wild dogs are likely to be shot by landowners, and secondly, to keep track of the pack and how they are surviving.

Veterinarians Dr. Markus Hofmeyr and Dr. Paul Meyer fit radio-collars onto two adults of the Venetia wild dog pack.

Since the release on 8 January 2002 we have lost an adult female and two female pups in separate incidents and to unknown causes. As of late March 2002, the pack comprises four adult males, four adult females, two male pups and three female pups — a total of 13 animals. 

Wild dogs have unique coat patterns that enable the identification of individuals. Researchers on the project have given each of the Venetia wild dogs its own name, and this helps us to accurately record behaviours and relationships within the pack.

Realising the Economic Potential of the African Wild Dog

Perhaps the most important component of the project is the development of wild dog-based ecotourism – through research trips and den-site visits – in an attempt to ascertain potential economic benefits of wild dogs in the area. Economic activities in the Limpopo Valley centre around safari hunting and live game sales – activities which many landowners feel are incompatible with the presence of large carnivores. As a result wild dogs are held in very low regard by local farmers, who have systematically eradicated them in the past. It is hoped that the demonstration of a way to make a sustainable income from wild dogs will reduce some of this conflict.