In the wild, indigenous people are not scared of the African wild dog, and there have been no reported instances of wild dog attacks on people (although they could fight back as an act of self-defense). Read also: Top 15 Quokka Facts Diet Habitat Survival More There was a tragedy in Pittsburgh Zoo involving African wild dogs. In general, they don’t attack livestock unless there’s a shortage of their common prey. African wild dogs simply like to stay as far away from humans as possible. Image source: Wikimedia Commons It’s not good to make them as pets.Įven though they belong to the Canidae family, African wild dogs are neither wolves nor dogs, but they have a “similarity” with wolves-it’s not a good idea to turn them into pets.

They can run more than 70 km/h or about the average speed of a cruising car and they are specialized diurnal hunters which means they hunt during day time. When hunting their prey (antelopes for instance), they will chase them to exhaustion. The African wild dog is an opportunistic predator.

One fascinating example of African wild dog facts is that although they may look small, these creatures can actually be a little bit bigger than German Shepherds. The African wild dog is approximately 75 to 100 cm (29–39 inches) long, exclusive of its 31–41-cm tail and stands around 60 cm (24 inches) tall at the shoulder, and typically weighs about 16–23 kg (33–50 pounds). They can be a little bigger than German Shepherds.

Big wild dogs