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African Wild Dog In Tall Grass

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

Kenya

East Africa

 

One of the few times I had the privilege to see a pack of wild dogs in Africa. As well as Kenya, I saw them once in Botswana and once in South Africa. There are only about 6,600 individuals left in the wild.

 

The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) is a mammal native only to Africa. It is a member of the canidae family which also includes dogs, coyotes, dingos, jackals and wolves. The African Wild Dog is known by other names such as the Painted Hunting Dog, African Hunting Dog, Cape Hunting Dog and Painted Wolf. In Swahili it is referred to as ‘Mbwa mwilu’.

 

The African Wild Dogs scientific name ‘Lycaon pictus’ comes from the Greek language for ‘wolf’ and Latin for ‘painted’. The African Wild Dog is the only species in the Genus ‘Lycaon’.

 

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Uploaded on April 1, 2018
Taken on January 16, 2015