African wild dogs take part in cooperative breeding as each member of the pack cares for the young and all females help in nursing the pups.
African wild dogs take part in cooperative breeding, meaning that every member of the pack cares for the young. Once African wild dog pups are brought out of the den, they become the responsibility of the whole pack.
Pups nurse from other females in the pack as well as from their mother. Weaning can occur as early as 5 weeks.
• Image | © Cloudtail the Snow Leopard, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
• Sources | (Estes, 1991; Kingdon, 1997; Mulheisen, Allen, Allen, 2002; Nowak, 1999; Stuart & Stuart, 2007)
