Some of Africa’s most skilled predators, African wild dogs can hunt down prey up to five times larger than they are. They do so by “seizing the high ground” before the assault.
Despite their relatively small size, African wild dogs are impressive endurance hunters who never seem to underestimate the importance of positioning themselves well before launching an assault.
Here are a few takeaways that African wild dogs want to share with us:
- The chase must start off on the right foot or not start at all. Even when they form sizable packs of over 20 individual members, African wild dogs prefer to take advantage of their sophisticated camouflage and sneak up on their prey. As they quietly get closer and closer to their prey before starting their chase, their target is left with fewer and fewer opportunities to come out of the chase in one piece.
- The target must be left no chance for resistance or escape. Because some targets might prove too much to handle even for a large pack of African wild dogs, these creatures rely on a variety of cooperative hunting tactics. Leveraging their camouflage, which creates the impression that a larger pack is present, these creatures envelop, herd, and close in on their prey.
- The chase must be synchronized with the prey. As they launch an assault against their target, African wild dogs make the most of teamwork and chase their prey in a highly coordinated fashion. They do so by synchronizing their choice of tactics with their target’s reactions to the assault.
African wild dogs remind us that even a hard target can be reduced to easy prey if the principle of seizing the high ground before the assault is respected.
Let the spirit of an African wild dog guide us as we watch out for the pre-attack indicators that warn us about the human predator’s attempts to seize the high ground before the attack.