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Despite
its reputation as a cruel killer, painted dogs are amongst the most
efficient of Africa's predators. They hunt during the morning and before dusk, while also showing a preference for utilising the light of a full moon. Because they are more visible than the Lion or Leopard, that hunts after dark, the Painted Dog when seen dispatching an Impala, Duiker, Kudu or other antelope, has been criticized by the few people who have actually witnessed a kill. Their method is to kill larger prey such as Kudu by disembowelling, small prey such as Duiker are simply pulled apart. Very fast and efficient. Are lions and leopards more noble when they strangle there victims,. thus causing more suffering of the animal being despatched? Evolution has determined the method of getting its prey and who are we to judge? In the open plains such as the Serengeti, Painted Dogs would quickly single out weak or injured animals and pursue its quarry until it tires. Indeed the dog is tireless in its pursuit , which often drew the attention of more powerful predators such as hyena, who then stole a large percentage of the kills made. Contrary to popular belief they do not take turns to run down their prey. In fact it is the prey that zigzags and thus the chase is shorter.
An average adult dog will consume approximately 4kg's of live carcass each day which would equate to two Duiker, a very small antelope, per day for a pack of 15 dogs. In 1995 a study in Zimbabwean farmland was conducted as a follow up to a report made to National Parks that dogs had eaten 18 full grown cows over a 21 day period, 14 of which were allegedly eaten over a two week period!! The pack consisted of eight adults with pups and would simply NOT be capable of this feat. Such a pack could only consume about 100kg's live carcass weight every three to four days and hardly the alleged 500kg's every day!!! When these details were made known all reports of stock losses to dogs ceased. Amazing!! Updated: 09 September 2007 |
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© May 1989-2006 Painted Dog Conservation Project - Zimbabwe |
