Painted Dog

The second most endangered carnivore in Africa

It’s fair to say Painted dogs are pretty confident. Whilst they might be the size of a medium to large domestic dog, in the wild they regularly take on much larger prey by disembowelling it, which gives them a ferocious reputation.

Painted dogs live in packs led by a lead female and male. Like many human families, whilst they sometimes bicker, their bond is super strong. So much so, that only the fittest will hunt and provide food for the young, sick and elderly.

They are cursorial hunters, meaning they pursue their prey in a long, open chase, and with an 80% success rate, we’d say it works pretty well for them. They are cunning and stealthy but rely on their incredible vision to locate prey such as wildebeest, impala or zebra.

Despite being a really impressive animals, Painted dogs have been hit hard with a huge population decline over the past few decades. We’re working to protect them in the wild.

Working with Painted Dogs

Sera Wildlife Conservancy

WildLife Foundation has awarded a three-year grant to its partners, Fauna and Flora International , for use at their Sera Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya where the money is used to secure the habitat of the species that live there, including Black rhinos, Grévy’s zebra, Painted dogs and Giraffes.

Threats

Human-Painted Dog Conflict

Painted dogs experience a high death rate in comparison with other large carnivore species. Although competition from other predators is the principal cause of natural death in adults, more than half of all deaths are due to human activity. Forced outside of protected areas due to habitat fragmentation, this results in increased contact with people and domestic animals.

Facts

Painted dogs are super quick – running at lightening speed of up to 40 miles per hour.
Painted Dogs have a strong scent (not in a bad way).
Painted dogs have one of the most powerful bites for their body size of any animal in the world.