So tell us a little bit about your story.ĬHRISTIE TAYLOR: Sure. IRA FLATOW: Yeah, I see what you’re talking about. So a lot of researchers are actually working on ways to keep these carnivores away from livestock in order to keep them all alive. And farmers, who often use poison, are actually a really big problem for African wild dogs, and even other carnivores like lions and jackals.

Unfortunately, it turns out that when you are a farmer and you have a predator eating the source of your livelihood, it’s actually a very natural response to try to kill that predator. I mean, it’s a good source of food.ĬHRISTIE TAYLOR: You would think so, Ira. IRA FLATOW: You know, if I were an endangered animal trying to get by, it seems like getting a farmer’s goat would be like a brilliant idea. Which it turns out results in a not-so-great outcome for the wild dogs.Ĭhristie Taylor interviewed a researcher working on exactly this problem. And as their habitat gets broken up by more human settlements, they’re learning that an easy source of food is, well, farm animals like goats and cattle. There are only perhaps 6,000 left in all of sub-Saharan Africa. One of the most endangered mammals on the planet is the African wild dog.

Check out Gabi Fleury’s game to educate farmers about protecting their livestock.

Credit: Jennifer Doong Gabi Fleury with community members in donkey cart. Plus, they talk about what it’s like to make it into conservation biology, after a lifetime of dreaming about it.įleury (right) leading community-based conservation work. Producer Christie Taylor talks to carnivore biologist Gabi Fleury about their research on African wild dogs and other threatened wildlife, and how thoughtful applications of technology could help solve conflicts between farmers and hungry predators-hopefully saving dogs’ lives. That predatory nature is now contributing to their threatened status, as their territory in sub-Saharan Africa increasingly overlaps with human farmers, who often use poison or other lethal deterrents to protect their livestock from wild dogs and other predators. One of the most endangered mammals on Earth, African wild dogs are known for their oversized ears, social bonds, and highly efficient hunting style. Credit: Mathias Appel/Flickr/ CC BY-NC 2.0

African wild dogs are very social.An African wild dog. The pack takes care of themselves, and they will often give food to other members, and help weak and sick dogs. These two can have 2 to 20 pups, which are communually taken care of by the entire pack. These packs are usually headed by one breeding pair.

African wild dogs live in packs of about 10 animals, but sometimes there can be up to 60. They are also extremely fast, and can go more than 44 mph. African wild dogs are great predators, and usually hunt and eat medium-sized prey like gazelles and antelopes. They have red, black, brown, white, and yellow mottled fur, giving them their scientific name, Lycaon pictus, or painted wolf. Unlike all the other members in the dog (canidae) family, African wild dogs only have four toes on each foot. Now they are mostly found in sub-saharan Africa, especially Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique.

The African Wild Dog, or Lycaon pictus, is an extremely endangered wild dog that used to be found all over the continent of Africa.

Wild dogs of africa