The colorfully spotted African Hunting Dog (Lycaon pictus) often attack a complete region, destroying far more game than they can ever eat, and can depopulate whole areas of grazing animals (Grzimek, 1990, p. 133). The dogs, who hunt in packs, can outrun even gazelles. This is because one dog will chase the quarry until exhausted, then the next dog from the pack takes over.
Watching hunting dogs on their hunt is not difficult because they do not mind being watched. In the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, where game is plentiful, the dogs hunt only from 6:30 to 8:00 a.m., and from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. They usually spend their day in their caverns, which were probably dug by aardvarks or wart hogs, or in the shade of trees in small groups (Grzimek, 1990, p. 133). If a single animal has an urge to hunt, it joins a group and engages them in play. The dog will then trot off to the quarry, but if the other dogs do not follow, then the dog who wanted to hunt will return to the group. Individual dogs do not hunt alone.
Hunting dogs attack their quarry only by sight and not be smell. They do not pay attention to the wind direction, and unlike lions or leopards, they do not try to take advantage of cover. The pack trots inconspicuously through an area, staying as close to the quarry as possible. If the quarry is running at a distance over 960 feet, the dogs will generally not follow. Otherwise, the lead dog will chase after the gazelles, who can run as fast as 33 miles per hour. The dogs can maintain speeds of 30 miles per hour for several miles (Grzimek, 1990, p. 131).
The quarry is caught by behind, usually by the legs or by thighs or sometimes on the ventral side. The dogs quickly tear it to pieces. The entire hunt only takes an average of three to five minutes and covers an area of 0.6 to 1.5 miles. The quarry has little chance of escaping. Of 28 hunts observed in the Ngorongoro Crater, 25 caught the ...