About African Wild Dogs

Distant relatives to domestic canines, African wild dogs populate the savannas of the Sahara desert. With a population of fewer than 5,000, these feral canines are considered endangered.

  1. Identification

    • African wild dogs have mottled coats in multiple shades of yellow, white, black and red, along with long legs, a white plume on the tip of their tails, round ears, no dew claws and four toes on each paw.

    Size

    • The average African wild dog is about the same size as a medium to large domestic dog.

    Social Structure

    • African wild dogs live in packs headed by a monogamous breeding pair. The alpha bitch can birth up to 20 puppies, and every member of the pack cares for the offspring.

    Food

    • African wild dogs subsist on wildebeest, antelope, zebra and gazelle. In leaner times, the dogs will also eat rodents and birds. When their territory borders human settlement, the African wild dogs sometimes hunt livestock.

    Lifespan

    • The dogs typically live about 10 years, but their lifespans are affected by diminishing habitats, human interference and diseases from other wild and domestic canids.