For a long time I've thought about having a page about the African Wild Dogs, often called Painted Dogs, on my site. They've been my favourite animal since childhood, when a collection of cards in tea packets about African wildlife first brought them to my attention, but I have to thank my friend Lori Ann for prompting me to eventually put up a web page about them.

I won't regurgitate the material that can be found on many more substantial, and better organised sites, but will include links to some of those I've enjoyed, and ones that themselves include links to various charity and research organisations. However, there are a few simple facts that the viewer should take to heart. Less than a century ago these dogs numbered around half a million, yet now number around a paltry 3-6000, and while they once were numerous in 39 African countries can now only be found in 14, they've been wiped out in 25. They may not have the cute appeal of a Panda, or the obvious photogenic majesty of a Lion or Tiger, but it's a sad indictment of the human race that their near extermination has happened so quickly, and with so few people aware of their plight.

These truly beautiful creatures are surprisingly quite distantly related to domestic dogs, sharing a common ancestor probably between 4 and 7 million years ago. It was previously thought that the relationship was even more distant, but recent DNA analysis and subsequent scientific consensus suggests that earlier lineage attributions, based on morphology through Cynodictis and Temnocyon, were wrong - here's the latest likely Canidae family tree . There's also quite a good informative article about the dogs on Wikipedia.

A video of African Wild Dog puppies, for the 'aaah' factor!

Links to African Wild Dog sites

BBC Nature

has some high quality videos of the dogs.

Save the african wild-dog

An excellent site run by Colin Dunn with links to many conservation and research groups with links for those inclined to donate.

Painted Dog Conservation

is an organisation based in Zimbabwe determined to protect their wild dog population, and doing some excellent work.

The African Wild Dog Conservancy

is a registered nonprofit dedicated to working with local communities, and national and international stakeholders to conserve wild dogs through scientific research and education.

Wild Dog Foundation

This group covers all wild dogs, including dholes, the bush dog, and even wolves and coyotes.

Some YouTube videos about African Wild Dogs

Natural World - A Wild Dog's Story - the story of Newky

Painted dogs from a National Geographic video

Painted dogs on the hunt an excerpt from another documentary

Ultimate Animal Dads: Wild Dogs

WILD DOG- Amazing Predator