ABU DHABI // Al Ain Zoo has some howling new guests. The zoo recently acquired seven endangered African wild dogs for its African safari exhibit, which is still under construction. The animals are now in quarantine and are acclimatising to their new surroundings. The zoo is adding 1,300 square metres to create a scrub savannah habitat for the animals, which will be able to roam a territory that includes shallow pools, running water, grass, rocks and trees.
Visitors will be able to watch the dogs - five males and two females - from behind specially designed windows along shaded walkways. During summer nights, the view will be enhanced by moonlight. "Visitors to Al Ain Zoo will now be able to view one of Africa's most active and social carnivores in an exhibit that is landscaped to match their natural habitat," Mark Craig, the zoo's director, said yesterday.
"These animals are active at night so the best time to view them is early evening." The African wild dog, found in a number of African countries, including Tanzania and Botswana, but only between 3,000 and 5,000 remain in the wild. Habitat loss is the primary reason for the decline in their numbers and, as the dogs are forced to live closer to humans, they are often hunted to protect domesticated animals. They also fall foul of larger carnivores such as lions, who kill but do not eat the wild dogs.
In a bid to increase their population, the zoo will build a breeding area for the dogs. Experts at the zoo estimate that they will start to breed within two years after which they will be able to establish a second pack. The African wild dog - also known as the painted dog because of its distinctively patchy coat of yellow, brown, tan, red, black and white - is short-haired and no two coats are alike.
They hunt at dawn and dusk, usually to avoid larger animals such as hyenas, and travel in packs. The animals' prey includes hares, cane rats, zebras and impalas. Only the dominant male and female of a pack mate, producing up to 20 pups in their dens, once a year, during spring. @Email:sbhattacharya@thenational.ae
