Lycaon pictus (Latin for "painted wolf") is an apt name for the African wild dog. Their body is similar to that of a wolf but the ears are larger and more rounded: they help keep them cool and allow them to hear very well.. Each dog's marking is unique - splotches of black, pale yellow-brown, blonde and white. The muzzle is black and the tip of the tail is always white. The fur is short but shaggy and is a little longer at the end of the tail and around the throat. There is a dark stripe of fur on the forehead. Dogs vary in size from 35 lbs to 70 lbs and stand about 24 inches at the shoulder. They have four digits on each foot and are extremely lean, muscular animals with long slender legs.

Bonds between pack members are continually reinforced at 'greeting ceremonies'. Before a hunt, African wild dogs greet each other with leaps,grunts,squeals,tail wagging and morning and late afternoon. When angry or defensive, they produce a deep-throated low growl.

Unfortunately, these greetings place the dogs in danger: any illness in the pack quickly spreads to all members. They are especially vulnerable to diseases carried by domestic dog (e.g., distemper and rabies).

Wild dogs are unlike other large carnivores in that they rarely fight among themselves, either for food or dominance. They will care for old, sick or injured pack members, regurditating food or licking wounds clean.

Pack size varies from 2 to 60 members. It comprises an alpha male and female, their pups from previous years and occasionally their own siblings. Normally, only the alpha pair breed, but when food is plentiful, other females may give birth, too.

After a gestation period of approximately 72 days, a female gives birth to a letter of 6 to 14 pups, generally between April and June. They use the abandoned burrows of warthogs or hyenas as a den.

Pups are the center of attention for the next few months. All of the pack members take part in their care and feeding until they are old enought to hunt. One or two adults stay at the den to protect the pups while the others hunt.

News Letters

Maned Wolf

Maned Wolves are not true wolves but a beautifully unique canine found on the South American grasslands. Their long legs help them to hunt for prey in tall grass. They are bright red in color with black on their legs and a white chest. They hunt birds, reptiles, rodents, and occasionally deer. They live in pairs.

Coyotes are one of the most successful Wild Dogs in the world. Despite horrible persecution, coyotes have expanded their range. Still, today coyotes are being relentlessly slaughtered by human hatred. Coyotes have an important role to play in nature.

There has been many myths about the large wild canine that has settled here in Northeastern Noth America. Many of these myths have been purpetuated by those who hate this animal and do not think it has the right to exist in the enviroment. However, there are a growing number of friends of this beautiful animal.

In the beginning there was thought that this new species in the East was a mixture of dog and the supposed new coyote inmigrant who had traveled from the west. However studies show that unless manipulated by humans, dogs, coyotes and wolves cannot adjust their breeding cycles in order to time their mating seasons to coincide with eachother. So, even though dogs and coyotes can interbreed, in the wild the likehood of this happening is impossible. So there is no such thing as a coydog in New England. One explaination is that this new animal evolved larger and very wolf -like in order to capture large prey like deer. While evidence is inconclusive and coyote-like animals in other habitats who kill large prey show no size differences, it is unlikely that large size to kill deer is the reason for this wild canines uniqueness.

The only other answer is that coyotes and wolves have bred together. Recent genetic evidence shows this to be the case. Even further it shows that the wolf of the East is really the Red wolf and is very closely related to the coyote maybe even just variations of eachother. Neither the Red wolf (or now called the Eastern Canadian wolf) or the coyote associate much with the much larger gray wolf thought they can all interbreed.

Unfortunately some groups do not like this new animal either.This new species is already under tremendous pressure from humans as having to adapt to increasing human population and unlimited hunting pressures. Many coywolves are killed every year by those who refuse to coexist with them.