Conservation (articles and reports)

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What’s in a name? Dogs or wolves, painted or wild
Posted on 23 November, 2018 by Nicholas Dyer in Animal Encounters, Conservation, Research, Wildlife

*This image is copyright of its original author

Lycaon pictus: neither wolf or dog and from a different genus in the Canidae family © Nicholas Dyer

Written and photographs by Nicholas Dyer

Lycaon pictus has many names in English. Among them are ‘African wild dog’, ‘wild dog’, ‘painted dog’, ‘Cape hunting dog’, ‘African hunting dog’, ‘hyena dog’, ‘ornate wolf’ and ‘painted wolf’.

It seems somewhat ironic that so many names have been given to this creature, when so few are left on our planet.

Indeed, some argue vehemently that ‘African wild dog’ is correct and others ‘painted dog’, and increasingly the name ‘painted wolf’ has its fans. But are any of these correct, does it matter, and what is the background to Lycaon pictus’ many English names?

To stay on neutral ground (for the moment) I will refer to Lycaon pictus as ‘Lycaon’ throughout this article.

For a complete reading, access the link: https://africageographic.com/blog/whats-name-dogs-wolves-painted-wild/

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