A video of a small pack of critically endangered African wild dogs taken by Ranger Sam on the 24th of November 2015 drinking at a small pond while keeping a suspicious eye on some exposed rocks just in case they turn out to be crocodiles. Rather be safe than sorry.
There are only about 1400 adult wild dogs left in Africa with less than 20 packs roaming free in the Kruger National Park. It is the only member of the genus Lycaon, which is distinguished from Canis by its fewer toes and dentition. Uniquely among social carnivores, it is the females rather than the males that scatter from the natal pack once sexually mature. The African wild dog is a highly successful hunter with nearly 80% of all wild dog hunts ending in a kill. The success rate of lions in comparison is only 10%.
They are not high in demand as a safari or tourist attraction which are mostly attributed to the name that might put the uninformed safari visitor under the impression that they are dogs that had gone feral or to a lack of understanding of the rarity and significance of the sighting. It is one of my favorite animals and it can get quite frustrating at times when asked to leave a wild dog sighting barely minutes after finding them to go and look for sleeping lions.
