A description of a new discovery: African wild dog packs communicate with other packs by posting scent-mark messages at a shared marking site

Understanding the use of space by endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) can contribute to their conservation because persecution by livestock farmers is a major cause of mortality when wild dogs range outside protected wildlife areas. Scent-marking is likely to be a key mechanism by which African wild dog packs organise their mutual use of space, and here, we report the discovery that African wild dog packs repeatedly shared a scent-marking latrine. We present the first systematic records of scent communication between packs of African wild dogs. Camera trapping for 13 months recorded four wild dog packs in northern Botswana repeatedly scent-marking with urine and faeces at a latrine where two dirt roads crossed a large game trail, in the overlap zone of two of the packs' home ranges. This site was visited by wild dogs at a mean interval of 12.2 days, with a mean of 10.3 days between consecutive visits by different packs, and a mean of 28.7 days between consecutive visits by the same pack. Dominant dogs scent-marked every time they visited this site for a minute or longer. Sniffing and countermarking of scent-marks from previous visits showed that this shared marking site acted as a bulletin board, with 12 exchanges of information between packs over a period of 13 months. Significance statement African wild dogs are endangered large carnivores, whose populations suffer continual attrition from lethal conflict with livestock owners. Deterring wild dogs from leaving protected wildlife areas will reduce this conflict-related mortality. All terrestrial mammals mark their home ranges with scent, and using artificial scent-marks to simulate African wild dog home range boundaries along protected area borders has the potential to reduce conflict killings by deterring the dogs from leaving the protected areas. Our discovery of multiple African wild dog packs scent-marking at a persistent, shared latrine, where scent-marking depended on sex and social status, is a breakthrough in our understanding of inter-pack communication in this endangered species and a key step towards developing artificial home range boundary markers that will deter them from leaving protected wildlife areas.

Automated summary

Understanding the use of space by endangered African wild dogs is crucial for their conservation. The use of scent-marking is likely a key mechanism for their mutual use of space. A recent discovery showed that African wild dog packs repeatedly shared a scent-marking latrine, demonstrating their inter-pack communication.