Lycaon pictus (Temminck, 1820) Brookes, 1827
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6331155 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6335031 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03ACCF40-BF3B-FFC4-7B94-F4A2F587DA8C |
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treatment provided by |
Conny |
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scientific name |
Lycaon pictus |
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African Wild Dog
French: Lycaon / German: Afrikanischer Wildhund / Spanish: Licadn
Other common names: Painted Hunting Dog
Taxonomy. Hyaena picta Temminck, 1820,
coastal Mozambique.
The former placement of Lycaon in its own subfamily, the Simoncyoninae, is no longer recognized, and recent molecular studies have supported the separation of this species into its own genus. The African Wild Dog has been grouped with Dhole and Bush Dog, but the morphological similarities among these species are no longer considered to indicate common ancestry. Genetic and morphological studies initially suggested the existence of separate subspecies in eastern and southern Africa. However, no geographical boundaries separated these proposed subspecies, and dogs sampled from the intermediate area showed a mixture of southern and eastern haplotypes, indicating a cline rather than distinct subspecies.
Distribution. Sub-Saharan Africa; virtually eradicated from W Africa, and greatly reduced in C and NE Africa. The largest populations exist in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, which account for approximately half of the estimated number of African Wild Dogs remaining in the wild.
Other populations occur in Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, and Zambia. Potential small populations (less than 100 individuals) may exist in Cameroon, Chad, Senegal, and Somalia. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 84:5-138- 5 cm for males and 93-141 cm for females, tail 32-42 cm for males and 31-37 cm for females; weight 21-34-5 kg for males and 18-26-5 kg for females. Males are slightly heavier than females, and are easily recognized by the conspicuous penis sheath. A large but lightly built canid, with long, slim legs and large, rounded ears. The coloration of the pelage is distinctive but highly variable, a combination of irregular black, yellow-brown, and white blotches on the back, sides, and legs. African Wild Dogs in north-eastern Africa are predominantly black, with small white and yellow patches. Dogs in southern Africa are lighter, with a mix of brown, black, and white. Pelage coloration is unique to each animal, and can thus be used to identify individuals. Head yellow-brown with a black mask, black ears, a black line following the sagittal crest, and a white-tipped tail. Hair is generally very short on the limbs and body and longer on the neck, sometimes giving a shaggy appearance at the throat. Females have six to eight pairs of mammae. The dental formula is I 3/3, C 1/1,PM 4/4, M 2/3 = 42. As with Cuon and Speothos departure from the typical form of dentition within the Canidae is apparent in the lower carnassial, where the inner cusp of the talonid is missing so that instead of forming a basin, this part of the tooth forms a subsidiary blade. This is indicative of a highly carnivorous diet.
Habitat. Wild Dogs occupy a range of habitats including short-grass plains, semi-desert, bushy savannahs, and upland forest. Early studies in Tanzania’s Serengeti led to a belief that Wild Dogs were primarily an open-plains species, but they reach their highest densities in thicker bush (e.g. central Tanzania, western Zimbabwe and northern Botswana). Several relict populations also occupy dense upland forest (e.g. Harenna Forest, Ethiopia; Ngare Ndare Forest, Kenya). Wild Dogs have been recorded in desert, although they appear unable to expand into the southern Kalahari or into montane habitats; they occur in some lowland forest areas. It appears that their current distribution is limited primarily by human activities and the availability of prey, rather than the loss of a specific habitat type.
Food and Feeding. Wild Dogs mostly hunt medium-sized antelope. In most areas their principal prey are Impala, Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), Thomson's Gazelle, and Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus). They will give chase to larger species, such as Common Eland (7Tragelaphus oryx) and African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer), but rarely kill these species. Warthogs (Phacochoerus spp.), dik-diks (Madoqua spp.), Steenbok (Raphicerus campestris), and duikers (Cephalophini) are important prey items in some areas. African Wild Dogs also take small prey opportunistically, such as hares, lizards, and bird eggs, but these make a very small contribution to their diet. African Wild Dogs live and hunt in packs. Hunts appear to be highly coordinated and are often preceded by a “social rally”. During chases, African Wild Dogs may run at speeds of up to 60 km /h, and are specially adapted to cope with the heat stress that this involves. After one dog has made the first grab of an antelope or other prey species, other pack members join and help drag the quarry to the ground. In some hunts, one pack member may restrain the head of the prey by biting its nose and holding on while others make the kill. Individuals may also chase and bring down prey alone. Hunting success is high in comparison with other large carnivore species (e.g. in the Serengeti, 70% of 133 African Wild Dog hunts ended in a kill). Social hunting gives each pack member a higher foraging success rate (measured as kg killed per km chased) relative to hunting alone. African Wild Dogs very rarely scavenge.
Activity patterns. African Wild Dogs are mainly crepuscular and hunt during the early morning and early evening hours. They may also hunt occasionally at night when moonlight is ample. Activity appears to be limited by ambient temperature and availability of light.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. African Wild Dogs are intensely social, living in close association with each other in a pack. Pack size varies from a pair to as many as 30 adults and yearlings, although typically packs include between four and nine adults along with yearlings and pups. Packs form when small same-sex subgroups (usually littermates) leave their natal groups and join subgroups of the opposite sex. Occasionally, new packs form by fission from larger groups, males and females emigrating together. Because African Wild Dogs are obligate social breeders, the pack, rather than the individual, should be considered the basic unit within the population. African Wild Dogs have large home ranges, for example 620 to 2460 km * in Serengeti, which are much larger than would be expected on the basis of their body size. Ranges in other areas, however, are typically between 400 and 600 km *. Ranges are defended infrequently but aggressively against neighboring packs, and African Wild Dogs may thus be considered territorial, especially as such areas are scent-marked. During the breeding season, when they are feeding young pups at a den, packs are confined to relatively small core areas (50-200 km?®), but outside the denning period they range widely. As a result, the large home ranges of this species translate into low population densities. African Wild Dogs dispersing from their natal packs may travel distances exceeding hundreds of kilometers. African Wild Dogs have a complex communication system that includes unique vocalizations.
Breeding. Fach pack includes a dominant pair that breeds each year. Subordinate females may breed on some occasions, but their pups rarely survive. Parental care involves all pack members. Such alloparental care is vital: small packs (less than four members) rarely manage to raise any pups. Cooperative care may even extend to caring for adopted pups. Whelping occurs once per year, and gestation lasts 71-73 days. Wild Dogs have large litters, averaging 10-11 pups, butlitters as large as 21 have been recorded. Pup sex ratios are male-biased in some populations. The pups each weigh approximately 300-350 g and are born in an underground den, which they use for the first three months of life. The dens are often those of Aardvarks, sometimes modified by warthogs or Spotted Hyenas. The mother is confined to the den during early lactation, and is reliant on other pack members to provision her during this time. Pack members feed the mother and pups (from four weeks of age) by regurgitating solid pieces of meat. Some also “babysit” the pups and chase predators off while the remainder of the pack is away hunting. Pups are generally fully weaned by eight weeks but continue to use a den for refuge until 12-16 weeks of age. They reach sexual maturity in their second year of life, but social suppression can mean that few animals breed at this age, or indeed at any age.
Status and Conservation. CITES not listed. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Estimated population size is 3000 to 5500 remaining in the wild. Legally protected across much ofits range. However, this protection is rarely enforced and Wild Dogs are extinct in several countries despite stringent legal measures. African Wild Dogs survive mainly in small isolated populations in reserves and protected areas, which makes them more prone to extinction and less likely to recover from potentially catastrophic events (i.e. outbreaks of epidemic disease). More than half of the mortality of adults is caused directly by human activities, even in some of the largest and best protected areas. African Wild dogs using protected areas often range outside borders and into areas used by people. Here they encounter a myriad of threats including high-speed vehicles, guns, snares, and poisoning, as well as domestic dogs, which can be reservoirs of potentially lethal diseases. Rabies, in particular, probably spread from domestic dogs, caused the extinction of African Wild Dogs in the Serengeti ecosystem on the Kenya / Tanzania border in 1990-91 and is suspected to have caused the deaths of several packs in northern Botswana in 1995 and 1996. Canine distemper may also affect African Wild Dog populations, although exposure may not always be fatal. The status of African Wild Dogs in several areas, including West and Central Africa, remains largely unknown.
Bibliography. Creel & Creel (1995, 2002), Creel, Creel, Mills & Monfort (1997), Creel, Creel, Munson et al. (1997), Fanshawe & Fitzgibbon (1993), Fanshawe et al. (1997), Frame et al. (1979), Fuller, Kat et al. (1992), Fuller, Mills et al. (1992), Ginsberg & Woodroffe (1997), Girman et al. (1997), Malcolm & Marten (1982), Malcolm & Sillero-Zubiri (2001), McCreery & Robbins (2001), McNutt (1996a, 1996b), Mills & Biggs (1993), Robbins (2000), Taylor et al. (1971), Van Heerden (1981), Woodroffe, Ginsberg & Macdonald (1997), Woodroffe, McNutt & Mills (2004).
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