( Nowak, 1999 Stuart and Stuart, 1995 "Philadelphia Zoo Animal Facts - African Wild Dog", 2004)
Males and females tend to be approximately the same size. The body length of Lycaon pictus is between 75 and 110 cm, the tail is between 30 and 40 cm long, and they range in weight from 18 to 36 kg. They have large, rounded ears, a thin body, and long, muscular legs with four toes on each foot. Typically there is dark fur on the head and a white tip on the end of their bushy tail.
Big wild dogs skin#
pictus is short, with little or no underfur, and the blackish skin is sometimes visible where fur is sparse. The pattern of colors is different on each animals coat, much like the stripes of zebras. Lycaon pictus literally means "painted or ornate wolf." The fur appears to be painted with brown, red, black, yellow and white areas. The African hunting dogs' scientific name, Lycaon pictus, reflects the color of their pelage. ( Canadian Museum of Nature, 2003 Nowak, 1999 "Philadelphia Zoo Animal Facts - African Wild Dog", 2004) Their habitat also includes semi-desert to mountainous areas south of the Sahara Desert in Africa. They are widely distributed across the African plains and are not found in jungle areas. ( Kingdon, 1997)Īfrican hunting dogs are found in grasslands, savannahs and open woodlands. African hunting dogs are now found in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, parts of Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and the Transvaal.
Their current distribution is more fragmented. At one time the distribution of Lycaon pictus was throughout the non-forested and non-desert areas of Africa.
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