The Wild Dogs

Those great hunters are somehow my favorites, unfortunately the numbers are decreasing,

I stole some info from Wikepdia:

The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is a canid native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest indigenous canid in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus Lycaon, which is distinguished from Canis by dentition highly specialised for a hypercarnivorous diet, and a lack of dewclaws. It was classified as endangered by the IUCN in 2016, as it had disappeared from much of its original range. The 2016 population was estimated at 39 subpopulations containing 6,600 adults, of which 1,400 were reproductive.[3] The decline of these populations is ongoing, due to habitat fragmentation, human persecution and disease outbreaks.[2]

The African wild dog is a highly social animal, living in packs with separate dominance hierarchies for males and females. Uniquely among social carnivores, the females rather than the males disperse from the natal pack once sexually mature. The young are allowed to feed first on carcasses. The species is a specialised diurnal hunter of antelopes, which it catches by chasing them to exhaustion. Like other canids, the African wild dog regurgitates food for its young, but this action is also extended to adults, to the point of being central to their social life.[4][5][6] It has few natural predators, though lions are a source of mortality and spotted hyenas are frequent kleptoparasites.

Although not as prominent in African folklore or culture as other African carnivores, it has been respected in several hunter-gatherer societies, particularly those of the predynastic Egyptians and the San people.

Published by Catja @ Beauty Beyond The Lense

Hi all, since I am little, I am using a camera to capture moments and this is what this blog is all about, once in a while I write a little story with the photos. I hope you enjoy the blog. Cheers Catja

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