The African painted dog is a canine with long legs, big round ears and a multi-coloured mottled coat.
The African painted dog is a canine with long legs, big round ears and a multi-coloured mottled coat.
African painted dogs are a highly adaptable species so live across a multitude of habitats including forests, grasslands, shrubs, savanna and desert. They once lived throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but have disappeared from 80% countries that they used to inhabit. They are now mainly found in southern African countries and the southern part of East Africa.
9-10 years in the wild, 10-13 years in zoos.
They hunt in packs twice a day at dawn and dusk, with gazelles, impalas and antelopes the preferred prey. Meat is regurgitated for the pups.
Mammalia
Carnivora
African Plains
Pack
Only distantly related to dogs, wolves and coyotes
While an adult dog weighs 20-30kg the pack hunts animals that weigh on average 50kg, but also up to 200kg.
While other dogs have 5 toes, the African Painted Dog only has 4.
Usually only the dominant male and female in a pack are breeding, but the whole pack cares for the pups.
African Painted Dogs live in packs of 6 to over 20 individuals with one dominant breeding pair, the alpha male and female. They are very sociable animals with frequent interactions, including sharing food and assisting weaker pack members.
Pup
69-72 days
2-20, average of 8-10 pups
300 grams
3 years
Height: 65-80 cm at the shoulder
Length: 75-105 cm excl tail
Weight: 17-36 kg
African painted dogs are classified as Endangered by the International Union of Conservation in Nature.
6,600 adults with only 1,400 mature (= breeding) individuals (last assessment in 2008)
African painted dogs are under threat due to habitat loss, human-animal conflict (e.g hunting farm animals or getting caught in snares meant for other animals) and are also susceptible to diseases which are transferred from domesticated animals.
Dublin Zoo has financially supported the Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) in Zimbabwe since 2009, specifically the rehab facility for orphaned and injured dogs and the Children's Bush Camp. Dublin Zoo also participates in the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP) for African Painted Dogs.
In general African painted dogs are wary of people and attacks are extremely rare. However, they are a predatory animal and could potentially perceive small children as prey to be pursued
African painted dogs are listed as endangered by the IUCN. There are only around 6,000 individuals left in the wild, and the population is declining.
Although hyenas look very similar to dogs they are actually closer related to cats, and are not related to African painted dogs.
African painted dogs cannot be domesticated.
African painted dogs stand ca. 65-80 cm tall at the shoulder.
African painted dogs live 9-10 years in the wild, and 10-13 years in zoos.
During the last IUCN assessment the population was estimated at 6,600 and is continuing to decline.
Although the African painted dog orginally descended from wolves, it is now only distantly related to dogs and wolves, and cannot interbreed with them.
The preferred prey of the African painted dogs are Thomson gazelles, impalas and puku antelopes, but they also hunt larger prey like kudu and wildebeest.
African painted dogs have long legs, big round ears and a multi-coloured mottled coat. No two dogs have the same markings.
African painted dogs once lived throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but they have disappeared from 25 out of the 39 countries that they used to inhabit. They are now mainly found in southern African countries and the southern part of East Africa.
African painted dogs travel long distances and roam across large areas of more than 700 square miles. Habitat loss means that there are fewer and fewer areas that can support substantial numbers of wild dogs, and is also leading to increased conflict with humans. African painted dogs are also susceptible to diseases which are transferred from domesticated animals, and are killed by farmers or trapped in snares that are meant for other animals.
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