Foxes & Wild Dogs

While most people are familiar with the worldwide resident red fox, there are actually 18 fox species around the world, with the tiny fennec fox being the smallest member of the fox family. The African Wild Dog, on the other hand, is restricted to the savannahs of Africa, and one of the most endangered animals on that continent.

Our very popular Cuddlekins plush animals are made of quality fabric and ultra plush stuffing. Unbelievably soft plush combined with realistically adorable faces please animal lovers of all ages! Each is 12" long, plus bushy tail. 

Plush Red Fox

Item CS04 $16.00 US  Add to Cart

Plush Fennec Fox

Item CS05 $16.00 US  Add to Cart

Plush African Wild Dog

Item CS02 $16.00 US  Add to Cart

View CCNow Cart/Checkout

African Wild Dogs

Much of the reputation of African wild dogs stems from basic features of their natural history, and human perception of their behaviour.

Wild dogs are intensely social animals, spending almost all of their time in close association with one other. Packs are formed when small same-sex groups - usually siblings - leave their natal groups and join up with other sub-groups of the opposite sex. Thus, in newly-formed packs the females are closely related to one another, but not to the males, and the males are closely related to one another, but not to the females.  

Members of wild dog packs hunt cooperatively. By hunting together, they can capture prey much larger than themselves which would not otherwise be accessible to them. Wild dogs weigh 20-25kg, but their prey average around 50kg, and may be as large as 200kg.

Wild dog hunts are almost always preceded by a ‘social rally’ which is believed to coordinate the pack in preparation for hunting. During chases, wild dogs may run at speeds of up to 60km/h, and are specially adapted to deal with the heat stress that this involves. During such chases, wild dogs are spaced around the running prey so that a member of the pack can intercept the quarry as it turns. After this dog has made the first grab, other pack members cooperate to drag the quarry to a halt. As a result of such cooperative hunting, each pack member has a higher foraging success than it would if it hunted alone. Larger packs are also better able to defend their kills against scavenging hyenas.

In most wild dog packs, a single dominant female is the mother of all the pups, although two or even three females may breed on some occasions. However, all pack members are involved in caring for the pups. Such additional care is vital if pups are to survive - packs rarely manage to raise any pups if they contain fewer than four members.

Perhaps because so many helpers are available to assist with pup care, wild dogs' litters are enormous: litters number 10-11 pups on average and occasionally contain as many as 21 pups.     

It is estimated there are between 3,000 and 5,500 wild dogs, in perhaps 600-1,000 packs, remaining in Africa. More than half of these are in southern Africa. The only substantial wild dog population in East Africa is in southern Tanzania.     

Countries where wild dogs have been wiped out are characterized high human populations, pointing to the fact that it is very difficult for wild dogs to coexist with people in the long term.

Above information taken from IUCN  Status, Survey and Conservation Action Plan for African Wild Dogs