African Painted Dog – Family Dynamics
Keywords:
Dependence on family, the need for extended family (or seeking one), family dynamics, giving away resources, large celebrations, planning ahead, putting the group ahead of the self, mutual hard work, punishing or ostracising others who make mistakes, knowing how to heal families and communities.
Description:
The African painted dog (also known as the African painted dog and African hunting dog) (Lycaon pictus) is a lean and tall wild canine with distinctive and unique individual colour variation found in primarily savannah and arid regions Africa. African painted dogs have no dewclaws. Unlike other canines, the African painted dog only has one layer of stiff fur with no undercoat, it loses its coat as it ages and older individuals can be almost naked. African painted dogs – unlike many omnivorous canines – are carnivores, with changes in their dentition that reflect this.
African painted dogs are diurnal, hunting in groups during the day, largely taking antelopes by chasing them to exhaustion. While hunting, they will adjust their methods to cater to their prey. African painted dogs are unusually successful pack hunters, with over 60-90% of their hunting attempts resulting in kills. Its enemies are the lion and spotted hyena, who often steal their kills, or kill them directly. African painted dogs have rich pack lives and allow the young to feed first on carcasses. They have separate social hierarchies based on sex, with females and males usually led by the oldest member of their sex. Dominant pairs are usually the dogs who breed. Most packs have more males than females. They can use a specific ‘sneeze’ vocalisation to rally the pack to hunt. They are threatened by habitat loss, human persecution, and disease. They are – as of 2022 – listed as Endangered.