With only 5,000 surviving, the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is one
of the world's most endangered large carnivores--and one of the most
remarkable. This comprehensive portrait of wild dogs incorporates
previously scattered information with important new findings from a
six-year study in Tanzania's Selous Game Reserve, Africa's largest
protected area.
The book emphasizes ecology, concentrating on why wild dogs fare poorly
in protected areas that maintain healthy populations of lions, hyenas,
or other top carnivores. In addition to conservation issues, it covers
fascinating aspects of wild dog behavior and social evolution. The
Creels use demographic, behavioral, endocrine, and genetic approaches to
examine how and why nonbreeding pack mates help breeding pairs raise
their litters. They also present the largest data set ever collected on
mammalian predator-prey interactions and the evolution of cooperative
hunting, allowing them to account for wild dogs' prowess as hunters.
By using a large sample size and sophisticated analytical tools, the
authors step well beyond previous research. Their results include some
surprises that will cause even specialists to rethink certain
propositions, such as the idea that wild dogs are unusually vulnerable
to infectious disease. Several findings apply broadly to the management
of other protected areas.
Of clear appeal to ecologists studying predation and cooperation in any
population, this book collects and expands a cache of information useful
to anyone studying conservation as well as to amateurs intrigued by the
once-maligned but extraordinary wild dog.
