African Wild Dog

Habitat

• The dogs are mostly found in southern and eastern Africa
• Packs live in swamp areas, deserts, woodlands and MT forests
• Packs also live in grassy savannahs
• They are found in the upland forest of the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia
• Each pack's home range may be as large as 600 sq. miles

Animal Characteristics

• Each dog has its own unique pattern on its coat
• Large, rounded ears help radiate heat from dogs body
• The muzzle is short and broad, enabling the large jaw muscles
• Each foot only has 4 toes. The "thumb" or dew claw is missing

Food

• Some prey are impala, gazelles, and young wildebeest
• Other prey are zebras sometimes
• Selects old, weak or injured animals
• It is a lightweight hunter that specializes in relatively large prey

Adaptations to survive

• They run 30 MPH for 3 miles or more
• The dogs rip their victim apart to eat large animals
• They approach the prey in a tight bunch, then charge
• A female dog has up to 19 pups, 10 pups is more usual