Wild Dogs of Africa

The persecuted African wild dogs have been hunted and exterminated whenever possible. They are viewed as indiscriminate, voracious predators that have the capability to alter the balance of nature in the areas they live if they are not tightly controlled. This has caused ranch owners, herdsman, shepherds, farmers and households in rapidly expanding settlements to greatly shrink the habitat of the African wild dog. This results in greatly diminished numbers of African wild dogs as their population slowly dies out. At this time, there is only about 5.600 remaining worldwide.

Severely Endangered Species: Is the End Near?

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Of medium stature, African wild dogs are only related to those dog breeds that have African origins. Like hyenas and, to some degree, wolves, African wild dogs are pack animals that live, hunt and travel in a family group, very often relying on each other to survive as they would be less able to do on their own. The pack mentality has allowed them to adapt to various conditions and survive encounters with more ferocious predators such as lions and their distant cousins, the hyenas.

They Can't Protect Themselves From Humans

The African Wild dogs are a severely endangered species because of a reputation that is undeserved. They sustain themselves on a wide variety of prey and even the carcasses left by other predators. They are viewed as voracious predators that that kill indiscriminately, causing an imbalance in the ecological scale if not controlled. They have been observed bringing down several zebras, wildebeest, antelopes, gazelles, impalas and springboks in one hunt, then feeding as a pack from the kill. All too often, ecologists conclude from this that African wild dogs are capable of bringing prey species to the point of extinction. They seem to forget that African wild dogs have been living this same way on the savannas since before humans began studying them from an ecological standpoint.

Another cause for the severe endangerment of the African wild dog is that they often enter human settlements and prey upon livestock and even pets such as dogs and cats. However, they are no more a nuisance to human habitats than bears, hyenas, lions and tigers. What it really comes down to is that mankind has encroached on their habitat without regard to their needs, causing them to have to adapt in an attempt to survive.

Lions and Tigers get protection, perhaps in part because they are handsome animals. Hyenas and African wild dogs are not very pretty to look at and have a foul odor, like many canine predators, as a needed counter to that of their prey. The odor helps their prey know when they are there so they have a chance to escape.

While the royal-looking lions and hardly handsome hyenas have a right to live on the African plains and savannas, so to do the African wild dogs. While to do feed voraciously, they only have small numbers of offspring and breed selectively, so there are fewer of them than could cause the populations of their prey to diminish significantly.

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