Conservation - Painted Wolves, A Wild Dog's Life

Lycaon pictus, better known as the painted wolf or African wild dog, is without a doubt Africa’s most enigmatic predator.

They are incredibly social animals and live their lives caring for each other and their pups. They mostly compete with submission rather than by dominance and aggression as opposed to, for example, lions.

The pack is led by an alpha female. She is the only one to breed and plays the role of pack leader, hunt commander, and gentle mother. As hunters, they are Africa’s most efficient predator with up to 80% of their hunts successful.

But what is most endearing about them is that they are incredibly playful. They sleep all day then wake to perform a greeting ceremony, in which pack mates exuberantly play, run, chase, and spar with one another. It’s almost as if they haven’t seen each other in years.

Sadly, the painted wolf’s survival is threatened and is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List. Their numbers have plummeted from about 500 000 a century ago to an estimated 6 500 today.

The biggest threat to painted wolf populations is habitat loss and habitat fragmentation. They are also devastated by road kills, snares, continued persecution from farmers, and diseases such as rabies passed on by domestic dogs.