Although their evolutionary path parted ways with those of domestic dogs around three million years ago, Africa's painted dogs are nevertheless eerily similar to their distant cousins in the ways they move and socialize. But their exploits are larger than life by comparison. Hunting in packs, they take down larger prey such as impala, zebra, waterbuck, reedbuck and kudu by their sheer tenacity, persistence and close co-operation, or even brave a skirmish with a pair of crocodiles. There are signs that the African wild dog was once highly regarded by the San community and also in prehistoric Egypt and the oldest fossils go back 200,000 years. The Facebook Group dedicated to the Wild Dogs of Africa take us into their world through the lenses of wildlife photographers and safari tour guides. We also meet their fiercest defenders and advocates, such as Jealous and Edward Mpofu, and catch the dogs themselves in rare moments - such as expressing playful joy at a surprise shower of rain.
Members: 13.1k, at the time of writing
Trigger warnings: inter-species violence.
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