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(#1) African Wild Dogs Are The Definition Of Teamwork
One advantage of sticking together in large groups is the ability to take care of the pack's other members. African wild dogs are one species of mammals that practice respect for their elders and have been observed taking care of the old, injured, and sick members of their group. Although there is only one couple in charge, the pack gets along so well that there is often very little fighting and dogs will follow the dominant pair without issue. Wild dogs will bring food back from the hunt for other members of their pack and regurgitate meals for pups and their mother. In fact, packs are so close knit, every member shares responsibilities, including caring for the young.
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(#2) They Are Able To Break Human-Made Traps
Although African wild dogs tend to act skittish and anxious when faced with a possible dangerous situation, they are also observing at the same time. Conservationists attempting to encourage more packs to form attempted to capture a breeding pair inside a cage trap. A hunk of meat was hung inside in order to tempt the dogs and they kept their distance until a pair eventually entered and was trapped. The rest of the pack immediately began circling the cage, picked up the rope attached to the door, and pulled it to open the door and free their friends. The dogs' ability to observe the situation before entering and understand how a contraption they had never seen before worked adds intelligence to their list of awesome traits.
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(#11) African Wild Dogs Are Nomadic And Often Travel Over A Very Large Area
The territories of African wild dog covers a wide area and they tend to often move around within their space. They may even call an area as big as 900 square miles their home. To ensure food is plentiful, wild dogs have adopted a nomadic lifestyle. However, during the times pups are born, the pack will stop moving and limit their hunting to a certain area around the den. Requiring such a large area to live has caused the dogs trouble as humans take over more space. Parts of the dogs' area may now contain houses, farms, or roads that cause trouble for both the dogs and the humans.
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(#4) Packs Hunt Cooperatively With Finely Tuned Choreography
African wild dogs have a nasty reputation partly due to the way they hunt and how efficient of a system it is. They work together in groups and make a cooperative attack where every dog has a role. Remaining organized at all times, the dogs will identify a worthy target, and a team of several dogs will begin the chase. If the first wave of dogs gets tired before the kill, they switch with another team and the chase continues. Using this method, African dogs can run much longer than their prey, which eventually tires and is killed. Although they are fond of hunting antelopes, by working together they can also attack wildebeests or other large prey.
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(#7) The Females Leave To Search For Mates Instead Of The Males
Female African wild dogs are bigger than the males and hold a lot of power within the pack as well as their entire species. In a case of role reversal, the male dogs are often the ones to stay behind to babysit the pups while the female goes hunting with the pack. Females are usually the ones competing for the males when it comes to pairing up to breed rather than males fighting over the females, as seen in other animal groups. When it comes time to form a new pack, it is the females that break away and form their own group. Sometimes they join another pack which has no females. Most male African wild dogs end up staying with their pack for their entire lives, taking care of each generation as it is born and grows up.
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(#10) Wild Dogs Give Birth To Large Litters Which Are Cared For By The Entire Pack
A typical litter for African wild dogs contains about 10 pups but can be as many as 20, which is more than most dogs in the animal kingdom. The babies are usually born in a safe location, such as a hole or thick bush, so they can easily be protected. Hunting members of the pack will bring food back for the pups and the youngest ones get eating priority over everyone else, including the head couple. One reason for the large amount of pups is their high rate of mortality. Pups may be killed by predators, disease, flooding, or a number of other things, and many new pups don't end up surviving long. Since African wild dogs want to keep their numbers up so hunting is easier, nature has insured that at least some will survive thanks to their large litter size.
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African wild dogs are the rarest carnivores in Africa. Because of their powerful hunting skills, African wild dogs are not appreciated by those who try to raise animals. With the reduction of habitat and competition from other large carnivores, their numbers are declining and became endangered. African wild dogs mainly live in the dry grasslands and semi-desert areas of Africa, never activities in dense forests.
The African wild dogs are cooperative hunting animal and live in close groups. It is very rare to have serious fights in the wild dog family. Although they look fierce, they are actually social dogs. The random tool will help you to know more information about African wild dogs.
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