African Wild Dog by artist Annette Hassell

Acrylic on linen, 9” x 12”

African wild dogs (aka Painted Wolves) share a common ancestor with wolves-like regular dogs do-but they aren't genetically compatible with wolves (or with regular dogs either for that matter), so they cannot interbreed. They also distrust any animal outside their pack and cannot be tamed. They have four toes, instead of five on their paws; very long legs (for speed); and bone snapping teeth, more suited to their extremely carnivorous diet. The pack is ruled by a monogamous alpha breeding pair, and pups and elderly or injured pack members are fed first, taken care of and protected by the rest of the pack. When they are old enough, it’s the females who go off to find mates-roaming for miles until they find one-which also keeps the pack from inbreeding problems. They are endangered strictly because of us-we've encroached on their habitat (they like a lot of room), we've killed them because of false fears that they are killing farm animals (they much prefer to hunt antelope or other wild beasts -and they hunt in packs), or they've contracted diseases like rabies from our domesticated animals, and being extremely social animals, the disease spreads rapidly.

These mammals truly live as a family and build community. https://youtu.be/6zmoqrgujbg