![]() In packs with more than one female, only one will be allowed to breed, leading to vicious rivalry between females. Females are more likely to disperse from the natal group, and they readily join packs which have no sexually mature female members. It is very unusual among mammals to have this kind of gender bias. Most populations have more males than females because more male pups appear in litters. The breeding female occupies a den while she bears the pups, usually selecting an abandoned aardvark burrow for this purpose. They have a highly complex social system, within which related adult members cooperate to produce a single litter of pups annually. They tend to be elusive and unlike most other members of the dog family, are extremely difficult to tame. The surviving packs live in savannas and woodlands in eastern and southern Africa, particularly in Tanzania, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia. ![]() The dogs are also killed by livestock herders and game hunters. Their relatively small physique also makes them vulnerable to attacks by their competitors, lions and hyenas. Their need for a large territory has led to the situation where today they are threatened with extinction. After a hunt, dogs will often regurgitate meat for members of the group that have stayed behind, including the old, the lame, the pups, and subordinate adults who have taken on the responsibility of caring for the pups. Their voice is characterized by an unusual chirping or squeaking sound, similar to a bird. ![]() Those ideas seem to be generally accepted in the domesticated dog world as well, but exactly how similar they are is still widely debated. Behavior of wolves in the wild is governed by their position in the pack (like the alpha). ![]() Members of a hunting pack vocalize to help coordinate their movements. Most experts agree that dogs descended from wolves. As a result, African Wild Dogs enjoy the highest kill per hunt rate of predators on the savannah (up to 98%). They're known for their stamina and for being clever hunters they have been observed hunting prey in relays, or even blocking a potential escape route for prey. Their main prey are impala and similar medium sized ungulates. ![]()
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