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They have distinctive jagged edges on their cheek teeth which help them to tear meat off their prey. The African Wild Dogs have sharp eyes, and a keen sense of smell and it is a very social animal that lives in groups. These wild dogs can run at an amazing speed of over 30 miles or 48 km per hour. Adults weigh between 45 to 80 pounds or 20 to 36 kilo and are 30 to 38 inches or 76 to 112 cm long, the male dogs are larger and heavier than the females. They have a thin body, and long, muscular legs, have four digits on each foot, with the paws of the front feet being larger and broader than on the hind feet. Besides that they have a strong, musky odor. The African Wild Dog has a life span of about 11 years.
When hunting they rely on sight rather than smell and because of that it is to their advantage to live and hunt in relatively open country. They are however found in different habitats ranging from the arid grasslands to the moist savannas and woodlands. Competition with other large predators and concentration of prey are the main factors that influence their choice of habitat and even though they do not depend on water, they drink readily when it is available. The African Wild Dogs hunt very effectively in packs relying on stamina to run down their prey. It is not uncommon for them to keep up chases that continue for several kilometers at speeds of up to slightly under 50 kilometers per hour.
The African Wild Dogs prey on medium sized mammals that are about twice their weight. At times they will kill larger animals, but when hunting individually they will also take smaller prey. Some of the animals they prey on are small antelope, impala, duiker, and the old, sick or injured wildebeest and zebra. It is not a pretty picture, watching them hunt as they bite and tear at the flanks and buttocks of their victims and may even swallow chunks of meat while the animal is still fleeing. Once the prey is down, they tear it apart and kill it pretty fast. They are usually not too keen on entering deep water and there are many cases of antelope escaping from them by swimming across a river. On occasion some of the food they get from larger kills may be hidden, though they hardly ever return to the cached food. For the most part the Cape Hunting Dog does not eat plants or insects, except for small amounts of grass. African Wild Dogs will never scavenge, no matter how fresh the kill would be.
These wild dogs are extremely gregarious and live in packs with a highly developed social structure. The pack is a well coordinated, highly effective hunting unit. Usually the males hunt. Packs generally consist of between 6 and 30 dogs which are predominantly males. Wild dogs are kind of unusual as it will be the females that disperse while the males are the ones to remain in their natal packs. Packs are nomadic and wander over enormous areas unless they have pups in which case they confine their activities around a den. Food is shared equally among all members of the pack. The pups are really in a privileged position. After the first few weeks the mother is no longer essential to their further upbringing. All adults regurgitate meat for the pups as well as for the sick or injured animals when they return to the den after hunting. They engage in elaborate greeting ceremonies which also serve to prepare the pack for a hunt, which they do twice a day, usually in the early morning and late afternoon. A pack will make excited sounds and lick each others faces. In fact they are extremely vocal, except when hunting, using an array of calls from whining to long drawn out kind of hoo-hoos contact calls.
African Wild Dogs are playful and the youngsters practice their athletic skills they need as an adult to catch prey. Healthy populations of wild dogs spend a great deal of time playing. Wrestling games a hierarchy among the younger dogs establish at an early age. Chase games help the youngsters to practice athletic skills needed to catch prey. Yearlings often take trophies like skulls and horns from kills and the subsequent wrestling matches help hone the skills that the dogs use to kill their prey by rending it to pieces.
Each African Wild Dog pack has a dominant breeding pair. This pair can be identified by their increased tendency to urine mark. They are normally the only pair of pack members to mate and they usually remain monogamous for life. Generally the dominant pair prevents subordinates from breeding. Breeding suppression between females may often result in aggressiveness or fights. Occasionally a subordinate female is allowed to mate and rear young. The dominant male and female, or the alpha pair, are responsible for almost all the mating. They are seasonal breeders, with most of their young being born during the season when hunting conditions are most favorable.
The African Wild Dog reaches sexual maturity at approximately 12 to 18 months, but they usually do not mate until much later. Gestation is approximately ten weeks and pups are usually born between March and July. Litter sizes can vary considerably, from 2 to 20 pups. The smaller litter sizes have been recorded from animals in captivity. The breeding female gives birth to her litter in a grass lined burrow that usually is an abandoned aardvark hole, and the pups will remain in the den with their mother for three to four weeks. Once the pups are brought out of the den they become the responsibility of the whole pack. Pups are being nursed by other females in the pack as well as from their mother. Weaning can already start as early as 5 weeks. The time between litters is normally 12 to 14 months
Cape Hunting Dogs are no territorial animals. This is reflected in the lack of territorial urine marking, which is pretty common for most canine species. Occasional urine marking has been seen in the alpha male and female, but not for territorial purposes. Because African hunting dogs are non territorial and do not have exclusive ranges, their home ranges can vary in size from 200 to 2,000 square kilometers.
Packs are capable of defending themselves against other predators, but lions and leopards will kill an African Wild Dog if given the chance. They display very little fear of vehicles and can be easily approached, making them vulnerable to their greatest enemy, man. There has been a spectacular reduction in the distribution of wild dogs and today they are one of the rarest carnivores on the African continent. Until very recently, they were ruthlessly exterminated; considered to be vermin. Present day records of their occurrence are merely a speculation about their true status, but healthy populations continue to exist in Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa mostly in game preserves or national parks. They are great wanderers and continue to turn up in areas where they have not been sighted for many years.
Maggie and Dave
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