Lycaon pictus

African wild dog ((a.k.a. Lycaon)) is the largest of its family in Africa. It's a highly social animal, living in packs with separate dominance hierarchies for males and females and they have a hypercarnivorous diet ((more than 70% of their food is meat)). The species is a specialised hunter of antelopes, which it catches by chasing them to exhaustion. The African wild dog is mostly found in savanna zones, generally avoiding forested areas. They have an extremely powerful bite with specialised molars for shearing meat and breaking bone and have exceptionally keen senses of sight, smell and particularly hearing. They have a unique social hierarchy - At first pups are fed by the dogs regurgitating fresh meat after returning from a hunt, but once old enough, they are taken to the kill and given first choice over the spoils. The other dogs patiently wait on the side lines, standing guard until their turn to feed. They almost never fight amongst themselves over food due to this ranking system. When a dog becomes ill, injured or elderly restricting or even incapacitating their effectiveness as a hunter, the rest of the pack cares for and feeds them. Recently the alpha female of a pack in Botswana lost one of her forelegs during a hunt. For any other predator, this would be a death sentence. However, she remained the alpha female for a few years afterwards continuing to breed and raise pups while being looked after by the pack. Also, the 80% success rate in wild dog hunts can be attributed mainly to the coordinated nature of the pack. Communication is key and the dogs constantly let one another know both their location and that of the prey. Their high intelligence and teamwork allows them to adapt to changing scenarios during a hunt.