Anatomy of the Dog

The African wild dogs are very well suited to life on the Savanna.  Similar to greyhounds, they have a light body and long legs; excellent for prolonged hunts. Whats more, the bones of the dogs lower front legs are fused together to keep them from twisting when it runs. They have a thin, long body, and muscular legs with only four toes on each foot, because their dew-claw is missing. The African wild dog's over all body length is between 75 and 100 cm (29 and 39 in), and they stand between 61 and 78 cm. (23 and 30 in.) at the shoulders. Their tail is between 30 and 90 cm. (12 and 15 in.). They weigh 18 to 36 kg (37 to 79 pounds). The males and females are about the same size. The African wild dog is the largest dog in Africa, and the only member of the Lycaon genus. The large rounded ears of the AWD actually help to radiate heat away from its body, while tts short and broad muzzle has powerful muscles that allow it to grab and hang on to its prey. Perhaps of the utmost importance is the multicolored coat of the dogs which helps them blend in with their surroundings. These surroundings are predominately the grasslands of the Savanna. As the grass can grow to be 3 to 6 feet tall the dogs are easily concealed from their prey. However, their coat, which is colored with red, brown, black, yellow, and white areas allows the animals to band together in what to a food item (prey) seems to be a single ungulating mass of countless bloodthirsty wild dogs. Interestingly, each animal has a different pattern of colors and relatively fur. Typically the fur on their muzzle is black and the end of their bushy tails are white. Works Cited http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/african_wild_dog.htm