The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), also known as the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild native to . It is the largest wild canine in Africa.
The English language has several names for the African wild dog, including African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, and painted lycaon. Though the name African wild dog is widely used, 'wild dog' is thought by conservation groups to have negative connotations that could be detrimental to its image; one organisation promotes the name 'painted wolf', whilst the name 'painted dog' has been found to be the most likely to counteract negative perceptions.
African wild dog packs have an 80% success rate when hunting, thanks to high levels of communication.African wild dogs generally live up to the age of 11 when living in the wild.The African wild dog can run up to 44mph — the same as a greyhound!
African wild dogs have large ears to help cool their bodies in the summer heat. Blood vessels run very close to the skin within the ear allowing heat to dissipate and cooled blood to circulate back through the entire body.
They are opportunistic predators that hunt a wide variety of prey, including antelopes, warthogs, wildebeest calves, rats, and birds. African wild dogs have a success rate of around 80% when hunting, which is higher than other predators like lions and leopards. This high success rate is largely due to their teamwork.
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Animals On Earth: Africa
SonstigesHere's the second book of the Animals On Earth Series, this time it's about African Animals which includes the likes of Elephants, crocodiles, lions, meerkats, mongooses, warthogs, caracals, cheetahs, ostritches, rhinos, tick-birds, buffalo, gazzele...
