African Wild Dog Greeting Sounds

Wildlife volunteer, Robin Shepard, joined Wildlife ACT in uMkhuze Game Reserve. She filmed this interesting video of Wild Dog behaviour: the African Wild Dog Greeting.

“For anyone who hasn’t heard the interesting noises that Wild Dogs make, here is a sample of the African Wild Dog greeting chirps they do whenever one or more dogs are separated, for almost any length of time, from each other. It’s part of their complex social system based on the ties of a close-knit family group, and submission, rather than dominance by force.”

African Wild Dog Greeting Video

African Wild Dog Greeting

An adult Wild Dog is left to guard the pups while the rest of the pack go out and hunt. Once the hunting party have consumed their kill, they return to feed the pups. On arrival, the hungry pups will beg from the adults – encouraging regurgitation with a cacophony of squealing and excitement. Whole chunks of meat will be brought up for the little ones to eat. The adults will also carry meat back to the pups if they’re close to a kill site. The dogs that were left on sentry duty will often then swap with the returnees and go and feed too. Learn more about African Wild Dog Behaviour, Monitoring and Conservation