Running Wild: Dispelling the Myths of the African Wild Dog - Hardcover

McNutt, John; Boggs, Lesley; Heldring, Helene; Hamman, Dave

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1560987170 ISBN 13: 9781560987178

Publisher: Smithsonian Inst Pr, 1997

Synopsis

Looks at wild dogs that roam the African savanna, and their social behavior, hunting techniques, and how they raise their young

About this title

Review:

For millennia, Lycaon pictus, the wild dog, roamed the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. A highly social scavenger, much like the wolf of the Northern Hemisphere, the wild dog served an essential function in the grasslands ecosystem, culling sick and injured ungulates from once-vast herds. With the advent of large-scale farming and livestock production, however, the wild dog was seen as a threat to progress and was hunted out. Only some 5,000 individuals survive today, making Lycaon pictus Africa's most endangered carnivore. This heavily illustrated look at the life of the wild dog makes a well-reasoned argument for its preservation.

From Booklist:

McNutt and Boggs have produced a compelling book on one of Africa's most endangered species. These particolored canines are not as well known as lions or leopards, but, as this book illustrates, demonstrate fascinating social behavior. The narration, divided into six chapters on topics like predation or play, follows a number of packs of dogs the authors studied for several years in the Okavango Delta region of Botswana. Intimate details of pack life are revealed in the stunning photographs, which illustrate the authors' discussions of pup rearing, the mechanics of the hunt, and the relationships among pack members. A plea for the conservation of this species is interwoven throughout the text. While the photographers alone have produced a beautiful coffee-table book, the authors' text takes the work beyond beauty and into the realm of science. A useful index refers the reader to specifics within the general chapters; the short glossary and further reading sections would have benefited from some expansion. Overall, this is a book highly recommended for all libraries. Nancy Bent

About this edition

• Publisher: Smithsonian Inst Pr
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1560987170
• ISBN 13: 9781560987178
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 149