World Painted Dog Day on August 26 _ African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus)
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
Kenya
East Africa
Photographed on the way to the airport taking us from the Lewa Wildlife conservancy to the Masai Mara National Reserve in the early morning.
On August 26th, our awareness is called to focus on World Painted Dog Day. These majestic creatures are also known as African wild dogs or African hunting dogs, which are wild canines and natives of sub-Saharan Africa. Their prey are gazelles, impalas, wildebeests, warthogs, and other small animals. Painted dogs are extremely vulnerable to human encroachment and agricultural expansion, which has been destroying their habitats.
“The threats are many,” Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) Executive Director Peter Blinston pinpointed. “Loss of quality habitat and poaching represent the biggest problems. Unless we take action to address these threats, painted dogs will become extinct in our lifetime.”
It is estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease. As the largest subpopulation probably consists of fewer than 250 individuals, the African wild dog has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1990.
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’.
World Painted Dog Day on August 26 _ African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus)
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
Kenya
East Africa
Photographed on the way to the airport taking us from the Lewa Wildlife conservancy to the Masai Mara National Reserve in the early morning.
On August 26th, our awareness is called to focus on World Painted Dog Day. These majestic creatures are also known as African wild dogs or African hunting dogs, which are wild canines and natives of sub-Saharan Africa. Their prey are gazelles, impalas, wildebeests, warthogs, and other small animals. Painted dogs are extremely vulnerable to human encroachment and agricultural expansion, which has been destroying their habitats.
“The threats are many,” Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) Executive Director Peter Blinston pinpointed. “Loss of quality habitat and poaching represent the biggest problems. Unless we take action to address these threats, painted dogs will become extinct in our lifetime.”
It is estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease. As the largest subpopulation probably consists of fewer than 250 individuals, the African wild dog has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1990.
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’.