Find out more about the African wild dog
Just as its name suggests, the African wild dog is, well, wild. We know that this is a site about taking care of dogs as pets, but then we thought you would like to know a little bit about this interesting dog breed. For starters, this guy does not even share the same genus with dogs.
While the dog sitting next to you at your desk is a Canis, the African Wild dog is a Lycaon. However, the do belong to the same family: Canides. So there you have it, they are not brothers but they surely are cousins with your best friend!
Characteristics, temperament and personality
This carnivorous dog is native to Sub-Saharan Africa. If you were to come close to one, the first things that you would probably notice is that this canide has fewer teeth and fewer toes. Ok, maybe the toes would be hard to look at considering that you do not want to get near one.
Its shoulder height stands 60-75 cm and its weight goes around 25 to 30 kg. Their jaws are designed for hunting. So, they have narrow canines and large premolars. The middle two toepads are usually fused together.
These are social animals that usually travel in packs of 8 or 9. It is very rare to see one roaming alone. They usually hunt on antelopes, which they chase to exhaustion. The young ones are allowed to feed on carcasses before engaging in hunting with the adult ones.
The fur of the African wild dog is not its most appealing trait. It is pretty bristle and stiff, with no underfur. As they age, they lose this fur until they end up practically naked.
Endangered species
The african wild dog has been classified as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Currently, its population is set to around 6,600 adults. Their population has decreased due to human activity, habitat fragmentation, and disease.
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