A Field Guide to African Painted Dog

Chapter 2: The Painted Dog Life Cycle

The Life of an African Wild Painted Dog

African Painted Dog Breeding

African painted dogs live in packs of two to twenty individuals led by the breeding or alpha pair. Single-sex groups occur, but these are usually young females who have just left their natal group and are not considered “packs.” 

The alpha pair breeds. If another female has puppies, the alpha female may steal or kill them—although other females may help to nurse the alpha’s puppies. After an approximately 70-day gestation period, litters of up to 20 puppies (the most of any canine-related species) are born in a den, either repurposed from another species like an aardvark or dug out by the mother with help from the pack. 

Nursing Mothers Hunt, Too

Females are very important to the hunt. A nursing mother will leave her puppies, usually with male babysitters, and join the others. All members, male and female, act as babysitters and guardians and will feed both the puppies and those caring for them.  See below for more on hunting.

By ten weeks, the puppies are weaned and begin to eat regurgitated food. At about six months, they can roam with the pack and even tag along on the hunt. See “What Are They Doing” below for more information. 

Females Take the Lead in Painted Dog Society

Painted dogs have a characteristic very unusual in the canid world: upon maturity (14-30 months), females, not the males, either singly or as a group, strike out on their own, abandoning their natal pack in search of a mate. These sisters may split up or stay together, with the alpha female emerging from among them. A new pack is created when an appropriate mate joins the alpha female. This system ensures that adult males will not be related to the adult females within a pack and keeps the instance of inbreeding very low. Painted dogs can live up to 11 years. 

What’s On the African Wild Painted Dog Menu

The painted dog is a carnivore. Its preferred menu includes small to mid-sized antelope such as impala, bushbuck, duiker, kudu, and reedbuck. It will also prey on a zebra, wildebeest, or even a buffalo, choosing the weakest of the herd or lone animal. All of these prey animals significantly outweigh the African painted dog.

Smaller mammals and birds supplement their diet. Their unselfish system of dividing the food among the pack differs from other canids. 

What Are Those African Painted Dogs Doing ?

Painted dogs packs are strongly dependent on each other for survival. Members are rarely aggressive inside the pack; in fact they are remarkably submissive to each other, licking each other’s mouths, rolling onto their backs, bowing heads, and regularly begging from each other. This makes for a very tight-knit, confident, and cooperative team unafraid to take on a hyena or even a lion when necessary.

The Benefits of Teamwork: 

This close teamwork leads to reward. Painted dogs are the most efficient hunters in Africa, successful 70% - 90% of their attempts, a far higher rate than other predators; lions only bring down 30% of their prey.  

Painted dogs hunt in packs, twice a day, early morning and evening, resting in between. (He shared some secrets in this interview) but how do they decide when to hunt and when to rest? They have a system.

In anticipation of a hunting expedition, the pack first “revs each other up” in what looks very much like play. They bow to each other and jump around, tails wagging, noses touching. It all looks like fun, but they are reaffirming the team - getting in sync. The frenetic action is accompanied by high-pitched whining or “chirping” sounds. Listen to the video. Painted dogs don’t bark.

Then, the sneezing starts.

Painted Dog Democracy by a Sneeze

No one is sure why African painted dogs sneeze before a hunt, and the painted dogs are not telling, but researchers feel that it may be a kind of voting system. The more sneezes, the more likely a hunt is about to start. ewer sneezes, and the pack may go back to rest for a while longer.  

African Painted Dog Hunting Technique  

On the hunt, the alpha individual leads and chooses the prey. However, another pack member may also spot a prey candidate, splitting the group into two hunting parties. This is not necessarily a sign of competition between the dogs, but a way to provide more food for all. The result is often two kills for the pack to share. Painted dogs might target prey up to 10 times their size. Unfortunately, their audacious hunting style has led to a very bad reputation for this amazingly unaggressive animal.

Painted dogs are fast (up to 37 miles per hour / 60 km/h). Long legs and large lungs give them speed and great endurance. Unlike other predators, painted dogs have relatively small, weak jaws and so do not use a “kill bite” or strangulation bite. They chase their target at full speed for up to three miles (5 km) until it falls from exhaustion or shock, tearing at the animal’s flesh and disemboweling the prey as it runs. This method is thought to kill more quickly than the traditional neck bite but can be horrifying to a human onlooker and helped give rise to their ferocious reputation.

Caring for the Community. How Painted Dogs Food

The painted dogs must consume the kill quickly before lions or hyenas steal it; even so, they revert to their more characteristically submissive behaviors immediately after the kill. The strongest individuals do not rush in to grab the food – instead, all adults hold back, allowing the young tag-along puppies to feed first; this continues for a year or so until the puppies are fully mature. These are the only known carnivores to do so.

While the others gorge, some members stand guard against thieves. Even so, every member of the pack, including those not involved in the hunt, has an opportunity to feed on the kill. After the hunting party has fed, they quickly travel back to the den or meeting place, where they regurgitate their food for the youngest puppies and those left behind. In this way, too many puppies, sick or old individuals, can weaken a pack overall. Sometimes, the alpha pair is the last to eat in a painted dog pack.

Moving Along, Together

Painted dogs rarely stay in one location for more than a few days. They continuously move throughout huge ranges, sometimes traveling shoulder-to-shoulder, good-naturedly jostling or mouthing and regularly grooming each other. They are so unaggressive within the pack that it is not unusual for the most submissive (and the best at begging) to be the most well-fed.  

All this interdependence comes with mixed results. On one hand, it makes for healthy, successful packs, but the vacuum created when even a single member is killed can be deadly.  All means of survival, including acquiring food, raising young, and defending against predators, are done as a team. Especially with decreasing painted dog numbers causing diminished pack size, the loss of even one strong individual threatens the while pack's survival. 

African Painted Dog Communication

Painted dogs communicate with a range of vocalizations, including “chirps” and squeals, but they do not actually bark or howl. At night they can sound almost like an owl, making a “hoo” noise. Physically, they greet each other with enthusiastic tail wagging, bowing, jumping, chasing, rubbing against each other, and many other submissive behaviors. Listen to the video in "What Are They Doing" to hear painted dogs vocalizing before a hunt. 

Special Thanks

Peter Bliston, David Kuvawoga and Jealous Mpofu and The Painted Dog Conservation, Hwange, Africa. Follow on Facebook 
Marc Cronje, Independent Field Guide, South Africa. Follow Marc on Facebook