Rarely seen in its natural habitat these days, the attractive African wild dog (Lycaon pictus – meaning painted wolf) is one of the most threatened carnivores in the world and the most threatened predator in Africa, after the Ethiopian wolf. Gregarious by nature, wild dogs are nomadic predators on territories that extend over hundreds of kilometres. They hunt co-operatively, usually at dawn and dusk, and are efficient hunters with a high success rate. Each dog has a distinct colour pattern.
The species is known by a number of colloquial names including wildehond (Afrikaans), African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted hunting dog and painted dog. Close on 40 other indigenous African language names reflect the previous wide distribution of the species across vast stretches of Africa.