Pack Hunting
One manifestation of the social behavior of the African Wild dogs is their hunting practices.
These canids hunt in packs--being as social as they are at other times. While hunting, they
exhibit extreme discipline--cooperating fully to bring down prey. There generally is one leader
of a hunt who chooses the prey and leads the chase--otherwise there is no observable
hierarchy.
Once the quarry is selected and the chase begins, the supporting members of the
pack (i.e. not the leader) follow at a distance of about 100 meters, in order to react quickly
and cut off prey that swerves to one side or other [7].
Being carnivorous, like most of the non-domestic canines, African Wild dogs feed mostly on
medium-sized ungulates, such as gazelles, wildebeests, and zebras. They sometimes also go
after domestic herds of sheep, goats, and cattle. During hunts, dogs have been found to sprint
up to 50-60 kph for notable distances. The typical chase lasts about 3 to 5 minutes, covering
1.6-3.2 km [10]
African Wild Dogs Hunting Impala--Courtesy of Planet Earth and YouTube
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