African wild dog
The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), also known as the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus Lycaon, which is distinguished from Canis by dentition highly specialised for a hypercarnivorous diet and by a lack of dewclaws.
| African wild dog Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene – present (200,000–0 years BP) | |
|---|---|
| African wild dog in South Africa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | Caninae |
| Tribe: | Canini |
| Genus: | Lycaon |
| Species: | L. pictus |
| Binomial name | |
| Lycaon pictus (Temminck, 1820) | |
| African wild dog range according to the IUCN.
Extant (resident)
Probably extant (resident) | |
It is estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease. As the largest subpopulation probably consists of fewer than 250 individuals, the African wild dog has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1990.
The species is a specialised diurnal hunter of terrestrial ungulates, which it captures by using its stamina and cooperative hunting to exhaust them. Its natural competitors are lions and spotted hyenas: the former will kill the dogs where possible whilst the latter are frequent kleptoparasites. Like other canids, the African wild dog regurgitates food for its young but also extends this action to adults as a central part of the pack's social unit. The young have the privilege of feeding first on carcasses.
The African wild dog has been revered in several hunter-gatherer societies, particularly those of the San people and Prehistoric Egypt.