The feeding queue of African wild dogs

Food sharing is a characteristic seen in many animals, as well as humans. In this article, Neil Jordan, a senior researcher at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, describes what this behaviour reveals about the African wild dog.

- Neil Jordan

FAST FACTS

African wild dogs implement a strict feeding queue after a kill, with the hunters feeding first, followed by the pups.

This behaviour is believed to motivate hunting, as the hunters have access to the nutrient-rich organs before the rest of the pack are called for feeding.

The wild dogs’ queueing system also frees the maximum number in the pack to guard the carcass against competitors such as spotted hyenas and lions.

Whether it’s a fancy dinner party or a routine family lunch, meals can be highly social affairs. And patterns of food sharing can shape or describe relationships. But this is not unique to humans. Despite its importance in shaping social systems, food sharing by animals that hunt in groups is not properly understood. We therefore set out to fill some of these gaps in our knowledge by recording social aspects of feeding behaviour in endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in Botswana.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE

An African wild dog pack revolves around a dominant pair and their offspring, which remain in the pack and support their parents in rearing subsequent litters.

Much is known about the costs and benefits of hunting in a pack, but individual feeding patterns and their consequences are not well understood. Quantifying these feeding patterns is key to understanding the origin and implications of many aspects of animals’ social lives, and for African wild dogs the results are intriguing.