BEHAVIOUR

ehaviour in the dog family is divided into two distinct groups of solitary hunters, and social hunters. The solitary hunters – that is, the foxes and South American wild dogs – live on their own, except when they are mating and rearing their young. The wolf, jackal, coyote, African hunting dog, dhole, and the domestic dog, are all social hunters. Their behaviour is in many like that of a human family in which the parents are the leaders, while the children should do as they are told until they are old enough to leave and form their own family groups. In a wolf pack, or a family of African hunting dogs, every individual knows which other dog is above or below it in the family hierarchy and it will fight hard to keep or to better its position. Even though wolves are such powerful killers, fights between them seldom end in death, and if one wolf is injured the others will often help it to feed.

SOLITARY HUNTERS
Foxes, including American grey fox, are solitary hunters that kill their prey by themselves. They do not, therefore, have the complicated, interactive behaviour of the social hunters. A fox’s tail cannot wag as expressively as a wolf’s and its upright ears are not so mobile. Even so, if a fox is frightened it will cower down to make itself look small, and if it is angry it will stand up as tall as can to look large and threatening.

SOCIAL HUNTERS
The African hunting dog and other social hunters not only have to provide enough meat for the family group but they must also defend themselves againts other large predators, like the big cats and hyena. However, human hunters have always been the main competitors of the social hunters. The wolf has been exterminated over much of its vast range in Europe and Asia, and the African hunting dog and the dhole are also near to extinction. Only the jackals and the coyote, being smaller and more adaptable, continue to flourish.