Scientific name:
Lycaon pictus

Natural spread:
Africa

this with dog, wolf and jackal draws near relative African game-dog it is at the most splendidly colored representative of the Hundeartigen well. its fur is, stained very different, irregularly black, yellow, brown and white from animal to animal. its dog-good shape resembles with the penetrated head, that strong skulls and the powerful bone-combs and yoke-bows of the strip-hyena. For this reason, one gave also them to the game-dog something of misleading name "hyena-dog" although no nearer relational relationships are available to the hyenas. The ears are relatively big and this limbs four-toe-y. The game-dog reaches a shoulder-height of 61-75 cm. it populates Africa south from the Sahara, became partially very rare there, however.

Way of life A game-dog-herd, that normally 5-20, but also 60-90 animals can include, belongs to the most social animal-communities, that we know. Without immediately showy ranking, the action of the individual animals is adjusted to the welfare of the group. Between the animals, a friendly-obsequious mood predominates. There is extensive work-division.

Nutrition Game-dogs prefer steppes and tree-savannas and avoid dense Urwälder. they hunt after type of the wolves together by taking turns and becoming for a very long time persevering laugh-hunters. they don't kill its loot through an aimed killing-bite but don't tear its victim after type of the hyenas of the legs and tears it within shortest period in piece. This for the human being as observers of very "cruelly" appearing killing-type led probably mainly to the pointless mass-shooting down of the game-dog, that is very important for the hygiene of the game-continuances. Preferred loot-animals participate, in fact to the most important thing einzelgängerische bucks, more rarely the bigger Grant-gazelles. Isolated, the game-dogs dare to tackle also big-antelopes and zebras, is not so successful on this occasion however. Appear hopelessly to them a hunt, they break it off soon. Over short routes, the game-dogs gain a speed of over 50 km per hour.

Reproduction The Ranzzeit of the game-dogs begins in February. Angepaarte males signal its title of a female, in that it simultaneous with this one and the same place with urine marks. The male often executes a handstand on that occasion. The boys were born by 72 days after a Tragzeit. The boy-number lies with 6-8 and also 10 puppies, that are suckled also by other mothers with boys. Solid food is brought to the puppy by all herd-members and is from-choked before them. As well, weak animals are looked after by the herd. Despite this perfect welfare for the boys, the puppy-mortality is very high.

Enemies Only one enemy of the game-dogs is the human being, that pursues it mercilessly in some areas. Strong food-competitor, the smaller herd in the rule of the beaten loot drives away, the more powerful dot-hyena is, against whom only strong game-dog-herds can assert themselves.

Endangering The African game-dog is endangered above all through the loss of habitat.