{"id":631,"date":"2025-02-12T14:50:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T15:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/?p=631"},"modified":"2025-03-18T13:19:40","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T13:19:40","slug":"whats-the-difference-between-hyenas-and-african-wild-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/guruapproved.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/12\/whats-the-difference-between-hyenas-and-african-wild-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Difference Between Hyenas and African Wild Dogs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a recent morning game drive in Botswana\u2019s Chobe National Park<\/a>, our group happened upon a pack of wild dogs. \u201cAre those hyenas?\u201d someone in our vehicle whispered. The resemblance was obvious. Both animals are medium-sized carnivores with patchy fur and a canine appearance. However, when it comes to canines, only one of these creatures is the real thing.<\/p>\n

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African wild dogs, also known as \u201cpainted wolves,\u201d and hyenas are often mistaken for one another, and they do share a lot of similarities. Both predators thrive in packs or \u201cclans,\u201d hunt in teams, and have their own hierarchical system. They also have loads of stamina when it comes to chasing down food. But while wild dogs are agile and slender, hyenas<\/a> are shaggy and goofy looking, built with strong, powerful necks and longer front legs than rear legs, giving them a hunched-back appearance. Another big difference: African wild dogs<\/a> are one of the continent\u2019s most endangered carnivores. Years ago, about 500,000 painted wolves roamed across Africa. Now there are only about 6,600. What\u2019s responsible for their decline in numbers, and what else differentiates these two distinct mammals? Read on\u2026<\/p>\n

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African wild dog, photographed by Nat Hab Expedition Leader \u00a9 Richard de Gouveia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Wild Dogs (aka \u201cPainted Wolves\u201d)<\/h2>\n

African wild dogs are also known as Lycaon pictus<\/em>, a scientific name that means \u201cpainted wolf.\u201d With their irregular, patchy coats of brown, black, white and yellow fur, it\u2019s a moniker that\u2019s especially fitting. Still, these creatures are neither dogs nor wolves, but a genetically distinct genus of canine all their own.<\/p>\n

Since the name \u201cwild dog\u201d conjures up images of roaming packs of scraggly and nefarious creatures, most conservationists are leaning toward the name \u201cpainted wolf\u201d to help change the perception of these magnificent beasts and, in turn, increase their chances of survival.<\/p>\n

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Painted wolves are known for their large, round ears, which provide excellent hearing and\u2014along with their keen sense of smell\u2014are important tools for hunting prey. Each individual sports its own unique markings, a bushy white-tipped tail, long legs, and only four toes per foot.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re social animals, gathering in packs of anywhere from 10 to 40 individuals, and use teamwork (each pack is led by a dominant male and female) to take down larger prey, such as antelopes. They\u2019ll often hunt smaller prey like wildebeest<\/a> calves and birds on their own, tearing apart their catch with long, sharp teeth for consumption. Painted wolves are primarily diurnal hunters, since their night vision isn\u2019t on par with other large carnivores, like lions and hyenas.<\/p>\n

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Threats to African Painted Wolves<\/h3>\n

Native to all of sub-Saharan Africa, painted wolves are now primarily limited to the open savannas, woodlands and grasslands of Southern Africa and the southern part of East Africa, including Tanzania<\/a>. They can sprint up to 44 miles per hour and have been known to travel as many as 31 miles in a day. Because they may occupy territories of about 580 square miles\u2014communicating across these distances with a distinctive \u201choo\u201d call\u2014painted wolves require unfragmented habitats in which to roam.<\/p>\n

However, with increasingly fragmented terrain, the number of painted wolves in the wild continues to drop. They\u2019ve been listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 1990, due to habitat loss as well as human conflict and infectious diseases like rabies and canine distemper (a highly contagious disease that affects a dog\u2019s respiratory, nervous and gastrointestinal systems). Farmers often perceive them as a threat to livestock, which can lead to retaliatory killings, and their patterned fur makes them especially alluring to hunters.<\/p>\n

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Ways to Protect Them<\/h3>\n

Thankfully, there are various conservation efforts in effect to protect African painted wolves. These include establishing protected wildlife corridors. A great example is the Kavango-Zambezi Conservation Area<\/a> (KAZA), a 200,773-square-mile transboundary conservation area spanning five southern African countries\u2014Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe\u2014that provides critical unfragmented habitat for such creatures.<\/p>\n

Conservationists are also working to train local farmers in livestock management techniques, including constructing bomas (livestock enclosures) to protect their animals from predators, and providing local communities with the tools to manage and protect natural resources, including endangered species.<\/p>\n

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Pair of spotted hyenas, photographed by Nat Hab Expedition Leader \u00a9 Richard de Gouveia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Hyenas<\/h2>\n

Hyenas, Africa\u2019s most common large carnivores, are a central feature of the safari experience.\u00a0These coarse-furred, opportunistic scavengers are native to both Africa and Asia\u2019s Arab Peninsula, and while they look and act more like dogs than cats, they\u2019re actually neither. However, when push comes to shove, they\u2019re considered more cat-like, partly due to their \u201ccat-like\u201d grooming habits.<\/p>\n

There are four hyena species: spotted, brown, striped, and the aardwolf, which looks more like a fox.<\/p>\n

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Striped hyena<\/p>\n<\/div>\n