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African Wild Dogs, or Painted Wolves have a highly developed social structure. They live in packs that vary from 10 to 15 animals, including males, females, and young. Their packs are nomadic, and they roam across a range of 1 to 30 miles a day. Members of the pack cooperate when hunting and raising their young. Normally, only the highest ranking male and female breed. However, other pack members help protect and raise the pups. Wild Dogs greet one another through vocalizations, body posture, and licking. They have a ritualized midday greeting ceremony of squeaking and thrusting their muzzles into one another's faces. Among the top carnivores, one of Africa 's most efficient predators, Wild Dogs are a landscape species requiring large, ecologically diverse areas to survive. Species, like Wild Dogs, have a significant impact on the structure and function of natural ecosystems, they may help regulate prey species that in turn play a role in shaping vegetation communities. Securing a future for Wild Dogs is an essential part in stemming the loss of biodiversity and preserving a healthy ecosystem. Wild Dogs are particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation. Limiting the size of their home ranges often forces them to compete with top carnivores (such as lions, cheetahs, and spotted hyenas) for prey. As a result, they may have to roam twice as far to find food. In addition, Wild Dogs often roam for social reasons.These two factors drive them onto human-dominated land. Farmers who encounter Wild Dogs on their property defend their livestock (often the sole source of income), persecuting the species, and giving them reputations as “killer carnivores”. They are also threatened by ranchers and trophy hunters. Finally, an increase in road-building near protected areas has led to more Wild Dog road casualties. African Wild Dog depict a dying species. They are highly endangered and their numbers have fallen from the hundreds of thousands to between 3000 and 5500 today. The reasons for this are the degradation of their range as a result of human encroachment which means they have less food to catch and catching domestic dog borne diseases like canine distemper and rabies as contact with domestic dogs become more frequent as a result of their shrinking habitat. The 'Lost City Collection' wildlife design portrays
the tall and lean African Wild Dog surrounded by King Proteas. |