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African Wild Dog ConservationAWDC now have their own website which will be updated on a regular basis. Please visit www.awdczambia.org for all new information directly updated by the team.Much of the information on these pages has been written by Kellie Leigh, the project director, and is used with her kind permission. Background
Now there are only three to five thousand dogs left in Africa, less than the number of white rhino. Of the 39 countries known to have had populations of dogs in the past, only 6 now hold significant numbers. It is one of the few African carnivores to be given the IUCN classification of Endangered Species. The African wild dog is nomadic, and has a home range of several hundred square kilometres in vegetation such as that found in the Lower Zambezi National Park. Because of this behaviour, they are always found in low densities wherever they still exist. Their natural dispersal mechanisms, in which they may travel hundreds of kilometres to find new mates, have been restricted, as once the dogs leave protected areas such as National Parks they are persecuted.
The African wild dog, lycaon pictus, is not closely related to other canids such as the jackal, wolf, or domestic dog; it represents an evolutionary line unique to Africa. The dogs have a unique and endearing social structure, where all the dogs of the pack hunt co-operatively, and they have regular play sessions or "greeting ceremonies' to reinforce bonds. When breeding, all the dogs will return to the den after a hunt to regurgitate to the pups and mother, and any sick or injured dogs left behind. They will then hunt again to feed themselves. It is thought that Zambia may contain one of the one of the last unstudied, potentially viable populations of wild dogs left in Africa, yet there has been no published study on the Zambian wild dog population. The main objective of AWDC is to identify the main threats to wild dog populations in the park and surrounding areas and to recommend appropriate management techniques. Information on the genetic background of the local population will also contribute to African wild dog conservation as a whole and may, in the long term, enable re-introduction of wild dogs into previously populated areas. More InformationFor more information about this project please use the feedback page. AWDC are always grateful for support, both moral and financial. |
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© Afrikeye 1999 - 2007 (certain items under permission of original copyright owner) |
The decline of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) has accelerated over the
last thirty years, attributable to loss of habitat and prey, and persecution by
man. Once found all over sub-Saharan Africa, wild dogs were even sighted in the
snows of Kilimanjaro. 
Once they
enter areas with high human populations they encounter several main threats:
illegal game snaring; road kills from fast moving traffic, shooting and
poisoning if the dogs enter farming areas (they are still often eradicated as
vermin although legally protected in Zambia); and diseases from domestic dogs
such as rabies and canine distemper which have caused local extinctions in other
wild dog populations. Inside National Parks dogs face competition from other
large carnivores, which can force them into unprotected areas. Lions kill both
adults and pups, and hyenas can steal kills and reduce the feeding success of
the dogs by harassment, which reduces the dogs' ability to raise pups.