They never leave an animal behind and are always strengthening social bonds.” Each pack has only one breeding pair, and the rest of the pack helps raise the annual litter, up to 20 pups, one of the largest litter sizes of all African animals. “The entire pack, sometimes up to 20 dogs, always hunts, plays, walks, and feeds together. “This is one of the most intensely social animals out there,” said Szykman, a behavioural scientist. Wildlife officials and scientists like Szykman are watching and studying the reintroduction because such programs are integral to Lycaon’s survival.Īdult wild dogs, with round saucer-like ears and a “painted” black, white, brown, and yellow coat, weigh up to 25 kilograms and stand about 60 centimetres with a delicate build. In 1997, 2000, and 2003, wildlife managers reintroduced several packs of wild dogs from elsewhere in South Africa to this park in the hope of rebuilding the species. Now only about 5,000 dogs can be found in isolated pockets of the continent. Lycaon pictus once roamed most of sub-Saharan Africa. The dog is listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union. The African wild dog, officially named Lycaon pictus, and also called the painted wolf or the Cape hunting dog is the victim mainly of human hunting. Szykman, a researcher at the Smithsonian National Animal Park in Washington, D.C., is tracking the dogs for a park project. If the dogs are within range, Szykman jumps back into her four-wheel drive to catch up with them before they awake. Just before dawn at a National Park in North Eastern South Africa, Micaela Szykman stands on a hill with a radio transmitter held in the air, listening for signals from the radio collars of African wild dogs.

You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40 which are based on Reading Passage 3 below. On The Trail of Africa’s Wild Dogs IELTS Reading Passage with Answers READING PASSAGE 3

All Rights Reserved.3.1 Oh hi there! It’s nice to meet you. call toll-free: 888.227.8311 or email us today In addition to expanding knowledge of the species, the study will identify villages within or close to the home ranges of wild dog packs so that an intensive vaccination program for dogs can be implemented in these villages, reducing the risk of disease transmission to wild dogs. Identifying suitable habitat for wild dog reintroduction programs.Identifying and avoiding dominant individuals when capturing wild dogs for relocation.Efficacy of bio-fences and synthetic scent boundaries to manage wild dog movement patterns.The study will pay particular attention to scent marking and dietary habits, and the role that these play in the wild dogs' spatial ecology the results could have significant implications for future conservation efforts: This is one of Africa's largest and most pristine wildlife sanctuaries, and a bastion for the survival of the African wild dog as a species. The goal of this project is to better understand movement patterns and spatial ecology of African wild dogs in northern Botswana, including the Okavango Delta and Chobe/Linyanti ecosystem. goats and calves) are preyed upon by wild dogs, and it brings wild dogs into contact with domestic dogs which can be vectors for fatal diseases such as rabies and canine distemper (to which wild dogs appear to be particularly susceptible). Not only does the continual encroachment of agricultural activity into these wilderness areas deprive wild dogs of habitat and natural prey species, but it also creates conflict with humans as small production animals (e.g. As a result, their home ranges are massive, and they require vast wilderness areas to survive. The ecological niche occupied by the wild dog is that of 'hit and run' predator - they are so voracious and successful as hunters that a pack of wild dogs must continually be on the move to avoid depleting prey species and attracting the attention of larger competitive predators such as lions and hyenas. The challenges facing the wild dog are numerous and overwhelming, stemming largely from competition and conflict with an expanding human population. The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is one of Africa's most endangered carnivores - there are estimated to be fewer than 6,000 individuals left in the wild, and the species is at very high risk of extinction. African Wild Dog Spatial Ecology in the Okavango Delta

Wild dogs in africa