Dr. Dawson David Maleko
From Department of Animal, Aquaculture and Range Sciences
in this page, drivers for population loss, reasons for conservation, and possible approaches toward sustainable conservation of the endangered populations of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) are reviewed. L. pictus populations face several threats, including habitat loss and degradation, persecution by human beings, infectious diseases, and competition with other large carnivores. L. pictus is among the top predators in the wild, which is crucial in limiting the herbivores’ population from exceeding the ecosystem’s carrying capacity. This, in turn, indirectly shapes rangeland vegetation communities and structures. L. pictus attracts tourists to Africa bringing foreign income which can be used for conservation and improving the livelihoods of the rural poor. L. pictus can be an essential source of genetic materials for breeding programs to improve human and animal welfare. Given the importance of L. pictus to people and ecosystems’ integrity, several measures for its sustainable conservation are suggested in this paper. These include controlling further habitat fragmentations, persecution by human beings, infectious diseases, poaching (prey losses), and inbreeding the remaining small populations. Conservation of L. pictus needs a holistic approach in which the local people, conservation agencies, decision-makers, researchers, and other key stakeholders should work harmoniously to prevent its extinction.
1. Introduction
African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), sometimes called painted hunting dogs or African painted wolf, are undomesticateddogs native to Sub-Saharan Africa belonging to the canid family. L. pictus matured body weight ranges from 17 to 36 kg, bodylength (76 -112 cm), and shoulder height ranges from 61 to 78 cm (Bucci et al 2022). They are social animals with observedpack sizes ranging from 15 to 60 individual animals or more (Creel and Creel 1995). L. pictus are colourful animals with skinyhairs with blotches of black, yellow and white, dark forehead, and massive round ears (Figure 1). They are generalist predatorsknown to always exist in small population densities inhabiting diverse habitats, including savannah (grasslands), dry woodland,Afromontane forests, and mangrove forests across Sub-Saharan Africa (Woodroffe et al 1997; Creel and Creel 2002; IUCN/SSC2007).
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Maleko, D. D. (2022). Why is sustainable conservation of the remaining populations of endangered African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) important?. Multidisciplinary Reviews, 5(4), e2022020-e2022020.
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