African Wild dogs chasing Cape buffalo

Painted Wolves Hunting Cape Buffalo

lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia, Africa

Painted wolves such as these in Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park are cursorial. Several adaptations allow them to chase prey for long distances and at speed. They are comparatively lean and tall, possess graceful skeletons, and the loss of the first digit on their forefeet increases their stride and speed. As such, they are diurnal and initiate hunts simply by walking up to prey and starting the chase. Successful hunts rely on the pack’s stamina, teamwork and cooperation.

During prolonged chases, the wolves try to separate out weak or injured animals, pursuing them to exhaustion. Painted Wolves typically prey on medium-sized antelopes such as Impala. Cape Buffalo are large, strong, tough and irritable, but this pack has been quite successful in hunting them. Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.

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