About wild dogs
African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), previously known as Cape hunting dogs and, more recently and more appropriately, painted hunting dogs, were once distributed widely throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past 100 years their range has been reduced to a few relatively small populations, mostly isolated in protected areas in east and southern Africa. The precipitous decline of wild dog numbers and range can be attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation and to expanding human and domestic-livestock populations which conflict with other large carnivore species.
Lycaon is classified as 'Threatened' by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) but reclassification to 'Endangered' has been recommended. The total estimate for the wild dogs in the whole of Africa is fewer than 5,000 individuals, and only four populations estimated to contain more than 350 adults each are known to remain: the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, Kruger National Park in South Africa, various protected areas in parts of Zimbabwe, and the northern Botswana, especially the Okavango Delta and its surrounding wildlife areas. This population in northern Botswana of approximately 700-800 wild dogs has been the focus of the Botswana Wild Dog Research Project since 1989.