Origin of the species and description
Photo: Hyena dog
They belong to the canidae family, a genus of wild dogs. Their lifespan in the wild is on average 8-10 years, but in captivity they can live longer. The wild dog, or otherwise called the “variegated wolf”, due to its unusual coloring, is the second largest representative of wildlife, after wolves. The genus is monotypic. The closest and only ancestral relative is the red wolf.
There are several subspecies of this wild dog in the world:
- the smallest species, the Sahelian subspecies – Chad;
- the most “variegated” subspecies from Mozambique;
- subspecies from West Africa - Togo;
- Western continent - subspecies;
- coastal wolf on the Mozambican coast.
In our century, only the last two subspecies have survived. We'll talk about them in more detail below.
What do spotted hyenas hunt?
The victims of these predatory animals are mostly herbivorous ungulates:
- Wildebeest;
- Gazelles;
- Zebras;
- Buffaloes;
- Wild pigs are warthogs.
Hyenas are excellent hunters.
They also attack the cubs of such large African animals as giraffes and elephants. A pack of spotted hyenas is a formidable army, and they often take prey from their competitors: jackals, leopards and cheetahs. The only savannah predators that can resist hyenas are lions that are part of a pride. But a lone lioness or a maned male nomad more than once has to give up his rightful hunting trophy if their paths cross with a pack of spotted predators.
The fate of hyena victims is truly terrible. After all, if all predatory animals first kill their prey, and then begin to eat, then hyenas do not bother themselves with the merciful killing of their prey, but begin to eat it alive, tearing off huge pieces from the body beating in agony.
Hyena hunting methods
Spotted hyenas come out to hunt at night, resounding throughout the entire area with eerie giggles, groans and growls, the sound of which makes all the peaceful inhabitants of the African savannah shudder. The main female leads the procession, leading the entire clan, looking out for suitable prey along the way.
The method of hunting depends on the potential prey. If the pack encounters a single animal, all members, at a signal from the alpha female, simultaneously attack it, knocking it down. By the way, a spotted hyena can even cope with a large antelope alone, and these predators in a pack can easily knock down a large buffalo.
No herbivore stands a chance against a pack of hyenas
When hyenas hunt a group of ungulates, for example, zebras, they chase the herd, surrounding it with a crescent moon, and try to single out one individual from the total mass. As soon as the careless herbivore lags behind its relatives, the spotted predators immediately knock the victim to the ground, and its fate is sealed.
Hyenas are amazingly hardy and tenacious creatures. Zoologists who observed these animals in the wild noted that during hunting, hyenas sometimes do not have time to dodge hooves and horns. But, having received a powerful blow to the head with a hoof, causing the animal to somersault in the air, the hyena almost immediately rises to its feet and, as if nothing had happened, rushes into the attack again.
Appearance and features
Photo: Wild Dog
Representatives of this family are small in size, smaller than wolves. And they even somewhat resemble domestic dogs and hyenas. Carnivorous predator, with a short mouth of dark color. They have a powerful jaw. This breed boasts the largest molars of any species in this family, as they help chew powerful bones.
Large oval ears promote cooling and clearly detect sound signals. When hunting, pack members are often out of sight of each other. Therefore, maintaining acoustic communication with the help of “huu” sounds, which can be heard at a distance of up to 2 km, is simply necessary for them.
Video: Hyena dog
Long strong legs with four toes. Due to the peculiarity of the structure, the fifth toe on the front paw is lost. The spotted color combines black, white and yellow. The fur on the skin is coarse and sparse, as if it is in constant shedding. But thanks to the variegated color on its fur, it can hunt animals. By knocking down the prey, which seems to have not one, but several dogs running after it. Coloring also helps to recognize each other in the pack.
It seems to us that they are all the same, but for them the “spots” are a distinctive sign. The physique is strong. When hunting, a pack of dogs has to travel vast distances. Body length is up to approximately 1 meter, weight varies (from 16 to 38 kg), at the withers - from 80-146 cm. Males are slightly larger than females.
Lifestyle
Wild dogs are active during the daytime. They get their own food and hunt in the morning and evening. They would rather see their prey than smell it, so they need a good view during daylight hours.
The African dog runs well, even over long distances reaching speeds of up to 55 km/h. If there is one short jerk, the speed reaches 65 km/h.
Almost every hunt of these predators ends successfully due to the fact that they do it together with the entire pack, because they need to feed the adult members of the pack and a dozen kids every day. Dogs can walk up to 15-20 kilometers in search of food.
In the natural environment, under normal living conditions, motley animals can live 9-10 years.
Where does the hyena dog live?
Photo: African hyena dogs
The canine family lives in territories from Africa to forest areas in the mountains.
And also in places like:
- Africa;
- Botswana;
- Tanzania;
- Mozambique;
- Namibia;
- Swaziland;
- Transvaal;
- Zimbabwe.
Previously, the habitat had wider boundaries, but the population of these animals has decreased today. They can be found in places untouched by humans or where the territory is protected by the state - in national parks and reserves.
The range is very fragmented, so they have very poor genetic diversity. Habitat area is about 2 km2. Wild representatives of African places do not leave their native places, so you will not meet them in Europe or Russia.
What does a hyena dog eat?
Photo: Animal hyena dog
The predator feeds on animals of all types of herbivores. These can be rabbits, bison, gazelles, antelopes, ostriches and others. They are agile hunters of medium-sized antelopes. Parents pass on the skill of hunting animals to their children from generation to generation. In South Africa, antelopes make up 90% of the diet of wild dogs, the remaining 10% comes from other animal species. It happens that some packs hunt prey that other packs ignore. They never eat carrion.
In the Serengeti, several packs of hyena dogs hunted exclusively zebras, and in the north of Botswana, warthogs and ostriches.
They are born runners, fast, agile and always hunt according to plan, so in 90% of cases it is successful. The flock always gathers for a “safari” early in the morning. If the hunting attempt is unsuccessful, they can do it in the evening. During the day the sun is too hot, during this period they hide from the scorching rays of the sun. Prey can be found anywhere. When hunting, they raise their white tails to see each other.
When the prey is caught, the hunters first feed themselves. They never attack each other during meals, do not fight or share food among themselves. Everything goes quite peacefully and harmlessly. This is a big difference from other representatives of predators.
They swallow as much meat as possible, and only then feed their babies and “nannies.” And the feeding process goes like this: they regurgitate already processed meat to the babies. After all, babies who have emerged from their burrows at one month old can eat just such food and, naturally, mother’s milk.
Features of character and lifestyle
Photo: Hyena dog Red Book
One of the main features of these animals is their peaceful coexistence. In their pack there are no fights among themselves for leadership. Quite the contrary, they support and help each other out. Strong individuals try to protect the weak and those who cannot feed themselves.
The leadership in the pack is always possessed by stronger males and females, and the rest obediently follow this law. A very interesting fact is how males and females communicate using sounds. Each occasion has its own special sound. If there is danger, they seem to chirp, and if they go out hunting, they emit a fighting “ho-ho,” and they can also call each other if they are lost.
The strong-willed character sometimes surprises. They go hunting only in the early morning; if it is unsuccessful, they can try again in the evening, but not at night. At night, the flock usually likes to sleep.
When hunting, they can pursue prey for an hour. Their speed reaches 60 km/h. Animals rely on their vision to hunt, so if they lose sight of their prey, they stop hunting.
When there is no need to hunt, they will definitely play. For them, family is the main thing. This is an extremely social animal. The pack is everything to her. Games in the family are very important for children. With their help, the kids in the pack learn future hunting. This is a very important moment in their not yet adult life.
There are also sad moments in the life of a pack of wild dogs. If the leader dies, the pack disintegrates. The young have to create or look for a new clan, and the female goes in search of a new partner to start a family.
Color
The hyena dog is characterized by an unusual bright spotted color of short, coarse fur, which is a combination of white, black and brownish-yellow colors. It is hardly possible to find two animals of this species whose fur would have exactly the same color: the pattern of spots is asymmetrical (that is, on the left and right sides it does not match) and is unique for each individual, and only on the head and back of the head is a similar pattern quite often found.
Some wild dogs are predominantly white, while others are black; These colors form the main background, against which darker or lighter spots stand out brightly. There are completely black specimens. The spots are very irregular in shape, also varying in size, and are often distributed throughout the body; white and yellow spots are always bordered with yellow. The muzzle to the eyes is always black, and this color continues in long stripes between the eyes and ears along the crown, back of the head and back. The ears are black, the eyes are brown. The base of the tail is brownish-yellow, the middle is black, and the tip is white and yellow.
Size and weight
The body length of the wild dog is 76-102 cm, but sometimes reaches 1.35-1.5 m in length, of which 35-40 cm is in the tail. Height at the withers is 70-75 cm. The male and female look almost the same, the first is only 3-7% larger.
Weight can be 16-35 kg. Weight varies greatly and depends on whether the animal is full or hungry, since a hyena dog is capable of eating up to 9 kg of meat in one sitting.
Voice
When going out to hunt, hyena dogs emit a loud, rather melodious cry: “ho-ho!”, which the animals exchange among themselves. In addition, they produce a sharp, angry bark and, like monkeys, a special chirping sound. When two wild dogs come into contact with each other, they emit a low-pitched cooing sound. They also have a signal call. They growl to express anger towards another dog. Puppies make a high-pitched whining sound in an attempt to get the attention of other pack members.
Social structure and reproduction
Photo: Hyena dog cubs
Like many animals, hyena-like representatives reproduce in separate pairs. They do not have a special mating season, but it still falls in early spring - the period March-July. But offspring may appear in December. Females bear offspring for an average of 2 – 2.5 months. One litter contains 6-10 puppies, but it happens that a litter of up to 20 puppies can be born, but this is rare.
Females hide in artisanal burrows, which are located near watering holes. You can find a place where there are colonies with such minks. But more often in a flock one pair of a male and a female reproduces. During this period, it is better not to disturb the females, protecting her pregnancy; she is aggressive and tries in every possible way to protect herself from the dangers of the outside world.
Babies are born deaf and blind. Their eyes open after 3 weeks. The female wild dog, being a responsible mother, watches and guards the cubs in the hole for another month. They are fed milk for approximately two months. As soon as the puppy begins to be released into the wild, all members of the pack become responsible for feeding regurgitated meat. Considering the fact that the meat has already been processed by the adult parent, the cubs can easily digest such food at their early age.
By the age of 5 months, puppies take turns, and sometimes the whole brood can follow the adults to hunt. If young puppies do not participate in the hunt, then adult dogs may return for them to call them for a meal. They lead the young to the prey immediately after it has been killed. They allow you to eat your fill, and only then do mom and dad eat. And what remains is eaten up by the rest of the clan. Grown-up puppies are considered adults at 1.5 years.
How do individuals reproduce?
The first experts who studied hyenas mistakenly considered them hermaphrodites. Such conclusions were based on the fact that animals have a unique structure of the reproductive system. This is what led to such a deep misconception. Female spotted hyenas and males have incredibly similar genitals. In the first few years of their life, it is generally impossible to determine gender. And only in the sixties of the twentieth century, scientists proved that predators have a specific gender, like all mammals.
Hyenas do not have a specific mating season; they can mate at any time of the year. Very often the breeding season coincides with the start of the rains.
The breeding process of the spotted hyena has its own characteristics. It is the males who begin their courtship first. They smell when females are ready to mate. If the female is favorable, the male bows his head low, thus expressing submission. He must receive approval, otherwise the female may choose a representative of another tribe. This happens quite often.
Natural enemies of the hyena dog
Photo: Wild dogs
Like any other wild animal, this friendly dog has its enemies. Even the similarity in the names of these breeds does not give them the right not only to be friends, but they are not even similar in kinship - hyena. Hyenas on their way is an eternal conflict throughout the life of this breed. Insidious scavengers constantly take away the food they get. After all, hyena-like dogs are born hunters and deftly obtain food by hunting animals. The hyena is inferior to them in this, so they can only clean up the food.
They are vulnerable to cheetahs and lions. Unfortunately, the number of packs of hyena dogs is declining due to their fault, since they act in the food chain of predators. The cat family are ruthless hunters and kill without a second thought. And if they come across packs of hyenas, they catch everyone without a drop of pity. This is due to the fact that dogs often scare away animals that lions hunt.
Humans can also be considered enemies. If we take the fact that dogs are hunters, and they hunt not only in their habitat, but can also attack agricultural land, then they will not be able to avoid conflict. Conflicts can especially often arise between predators and farmers. Nowadays, wild dogs are preserved mainly in protected areas and protected areas, which prevents poaching.
Run for life. Conservation in nature
The number of hyena dogs is estimated at less than 5,500 individuals. They are pursued by humans and die under the wheels of cars; they are considered carriers of epizootic diseases, especially rabies; their habitats are declining due to the increase in the number of people and their economic activities. In addition, lion predation poses a serious threat to them.
Hyena dogs also suffer from hyenas robbing them of their prey. Dogs usually hunt 3.5 hours a day, but are forced to increase this time to 12 hours if they lose 25% of their prey. They require extensive hunting grounds and invariably come into conflict with livestock owners if livestock graze freely in protected areas.
A core of robust but largely isolated populations persists in eastern and southern Africa, along with several smaller sub-Saharan populations. The future of this species depends on an end to direct persecution, as well as conservation agriculture.
Population and species status
Photo: Wild Dog Africa
In recent times, large families of canids could be found in habitats. But their numbers only decrease over the years. The group, if previously there could be up to 100 animals, now the clan includes up to 20-30 dogs, including young animals. Their population is declining every year.
The most basic reasons that provoked the extinction of these animals were the degradation of their usual habitats and infectious diseases. And also uncontrolled mass shooting by poachers. Population reduction is also caused by infectious diseases: rabies; anthrax, epizootic diseases. They infect domestic animals with these diseases, which also leads to their shooting with impunity.
We can sadly say that the population today numbers no more than 5 thousand individuals. In North Africa, these predators are also few in number, and in West Africa they are very rare. They inhabit the range selectively. Found in central Africa and Cameroon. The exception is the entire territory of Senegal, where hyena dogs are under state protection.
