Table of Contents
General Information
Habitat
The African Wild Dog is located in the African Savannah (pictured below)
Definition
A savannah is a mixed woodland grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. Savannas are also characterised by seasonal water availability, with the majority of rainfall confined to one season; they are associated with several types of biomes and are frequently in a transitional zone between forest and desert or grassland. Savanna covers approximately 20% of the Earth’s land area.
Biotic Factors
The biotic factors of a savannah are the living organisms that live the area. These organisms are referred to as producers, consumers or decomposers. Producers use the sun’s energy via photosynthesis to absorb nutrients. Trees, grasses and shrubs are types of producers found in a savannah. Producers provide energy for many species of organisms such as insects, fungi, and larger animals. Consumers eat plants or animals to obtain energy for growth and reproduction and are divided into three categories: herbivores, omnivores and carnivores. Herbivores eat plants only. Omnivores eat both plants and animals. Carnivores eat animals only. Decomposers break down organic material to obtain nutrients and include the fungi, insects, algae and bacteria.
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Abiotic Factors
The abiotic factors of a savannah are the nonliving aspects of the ecosystem that the living organisms depend upon. These include climate, soil, topography and sometimes even natural disturbances. Precipitation (rain) is important to a savannah as it determines the amount and types of plants and trees that grow. The topography of a savannah includes the landscape. The landscape includes hills and prairies, rocks, cliffs, gullies and low-lying areas. The natural disturbances that can occur in a savannah include flooding from rivers and streams, and fires from lightning storms.
Survival Adaptations
The African Wild Dog has many survival adaptations. The most obvious one is its coat. It fully lets it blend into its environment, with perfectly suited colours that blend with the African landscape. The most important survival adaptation is its teamwork with the other dogs in the pack. The African Wild Dog works as a team to bring down prey twice as large, with the sheer number of dogs overwhelming for their prey. They also have superb hearing, and even greater sense of smell. They use these two senses to track down prey. They also have great endurance which also allows them to capture their prey with ease. They also have the ability to communicate with one another. Thought the sounds might seem like high-pitched “moans” to human ears, this communication allows the Wild Dogs to co-ordinate attacks on prey. The most important adaptation is their ability to learn. When they are young, they are taught the skills passed down from generation to generation about how to survive in the wild. The African Wild dogs are one of only few animals who do this. They need every single one of these skills to survive in the wild.
Though these creatures sound formidable, they are almost on the verge of extinction. With threats such as habitat loss and starvation, as the dogs must compete with other carnivores such as Hyenas and even Lions being a prevalent issue. Another issue is that the Wild Dogs are also very susceptible to disease, with an example of Rabies, which can easily destroy an entire pack. These diseases are usually transmitted from domestic animals.
The digestion system of the African Wild Dog
Tongue
The fleshy muscular organ in the mouth of a mammal, used for tasting, licking and swallowing
Oesophagus
Located in your throat near the trachea (windpipe), the oesophagus receives food from the mouth when food is swallowed. By means of a series of muscular contractions called peristalsis, the oesophagus delivers food to the stomach.
Stomach
The stomach is a hollow organ, or “container,” that holds food while it is being mixed with enzymes that continue the process of breaking down food into a usable form. Cells in the lining of the stomach secrete a strong acid and powerful enzymes that are responsible for the breakdown process. When the contents of the stomach are sufficiently processed, they are released into the small intestine.
Duodenum
The first part of the small intestine immediately beyond the stomach
Large Intestine
The large intestine is a highly specialized organ that is responsible for processing waste so that emptying the bowels is easy and convenient.
Small Intestine
The muscular tube that breaks down food using enzymes released by the pancreas and bile from the liver. Peristalsis also is at work in this organ, moving food through and mixing it with digestive secretions from the liver.
Liver
The liver has multiple functions, but its main function within the digestive system is to process the nutrients absorbed from the small intestine. Bile from the liver secreted into the small intestine also plays an important role in digesting fat.
Cecum
A pouch connected to the junction of the small and large intestines.
Anus
The opening at the end of the dog’s body which releases the solid waste left over from the digestion of the food
Diet
The African wild dog is a carnivore, which means its diet consists of primarily meat. The Dogs prefer to hunt antelope, but will also hunt wildebeest, warthogs, rodents, birds, buffalo and even insects! Their hunting strategy varies, depending on the prey they are hunting for. For example, a pack would hunt antelope by sneaking up on the herd and then running down an individual, repeatedly biting it on the legs and belly until it weakens. The wild dog can give chase for 10 to 60 minutes, running at a speed of up to 66 kilometres per hour. They have a very high hunting success rate, with 60% – 90%of chases resulting in a kill. The African Wild Dog will always hunt in a pack. On average, a pack would eat almost 2 kg of meat per day, each.
Specific Adaptations
As the African Wild Dog is a carnivore, it’s incisors and canines are much, much sharper as the Wild Dog is ripping the flesh from its prey, as well as using its teeth to attach to the prey itself, and doesn’t have many molars as unlike a herbivore, as the Wild Dog doesn’t do a lot of chewing and grinding like a herbivore. Though their teeth have specifically adapted into being much sharper than other animals in order to quickly “shred the carcass of a prey rapidly”, because as they are a small animal physically, the chances of their food being stolen by a larger predator is heightened. Another adaptation is that their intestines are shorter than one of an average dog, as this shortened length allows the food to be digested faster, and thought it will increase the amount of times they will need to hunt, the quicker digestion means food goes in and out of their bodies faster, and therefore they are able to move along faster, instead of having to wait until their bodies digest the food.
Comparison
The one of the main differences is highlighted above, that being the shorter intestines. However, when viewing both digestive systems, though the obvious difference with human being bi-pedal and therefore the orientation of the system is different, the “layout: of the digestive systems between the 2 are very similar. The Oesophagus leads straight into the stomach, with both allowing the liver to excrete bile into the stomach, the difference there being that humans have a gallbladder to store bile, whereas the Wild Dogs do not. The food then moves through the small intestine and large intestine respectively, again with the difference being length of the intestines, and the large intestines in humans almost envelopes the entire small intestine, whereas with the Wild Dog it only runs along side the small intestine. Both then move the food through the intestines to be absorbed and then remove the waste via the anus. One main difference would be the enzymes that break down the food in the stomach. As humans are omnivores, the stomach must break down both meat and not meat products, whereas the African Wild Dog only needs to break down meat in its stomach. Overall the digestive systems are similar with one another.
Bibliography
- https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lycaon_pictus/https://cellcode.us/quotes/digestive-system-african-wild-dog.html
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/african-wild-dog/https://a-z-animals.com/animals/african-wild-dog/
- https://www.whozoo.org/Intro98/michaelg/michgree.htm
