Wild Dogs

Additional animals are slated to join the African Grasslands sometime this year. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is helping the Detroit Zoo bring another endangered species, the African wild dog, to the attraction.These amazing hunters are at the top of the grasslands food chain, and skillfully work in packs to bring down animals as  large as a zebra. The brown, black and white carnivores are among the most successful predators in Africa, catching prey 70 to 90 percent of the time in the wild. In their native region, they are persecuted as agricultural pests by farmers and also suffer from habitat loss due to human encroachment on the large areas of land the dogs require. Zoo officials ultimately hope to obtain a breeding pair to contribute to the species’ survival, and are searching with assistance from the AZA’s African Wild Dog Species Survival Plan. In the meantime, the Zoo is readying the future wild dog area with a double fence to prevent the neighboring zebras from seeing the canines.