Where does the African wild dog live?
The African wild dog lives mostly in Southern and East Africa, in steppes and savannas. It is rare in North Africa and mostly absent from West Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa. It is also called the painted dog. It lives in large, close-knit packs.
What does the African wild dog eat?
The African wild dog is a specialised hunter of land ungulates: it hunts mostly at dawn and dusk, but is also active by day. It catches its prey using stamina and cooperative hunting to exhaust them. Like other canids, it regurgitates food for its young, but it also does so for adults, which is a central part of the pack's social life. The young have the privilege of feeding first on carcasses.
Is the African wild dog endangered?
Yes: it has been listed as Endangered by the IUCN since 1990. An estimated 6,600 adults remain, including 1,400 mature individuals, in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease. The largest subpopulation probably has fewer than 250 individuals.
All 71 threatened animals ›
