African wild dog

Lycaon pictus
Mbwa mwitu (Swahili), Musege (Luganda)

Habitat
Open woodlands, savannahs, bushland, semi-desert areas

Conservation status
Endangered. The species is at risk from habitat loss due to agriculture, mining, oil production and road transport, and introduced diseases such as canine distemper and rabies, as well as deliberate poisoning and hunting.

Biology
These highly social diurnal hunters live in packs. They mainly prey on gazelles, antelopes and warthogs.

Diorama

1944–47

Provenance

February  1924, Athi plains, Kenya; two specimens shot by Bernard von Wattenwyl, third of unknown provenance

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