ǁKo Wild Dog
The teamwork and hunting techniques of ǁKo Wild Dogs are legendary alongside their endurance, not particularly fast but instead wearing down their prey. These are an extremely gregarious species which form strong social bonds and permanent packs, growing depressed and dying of broken heart syndrome if separated from each other! Packs can range from 2-27 individuals though the average is 4-9, one dominant pair leading the pack. They are otherwise cooperative and extremely successful when hunting together.
Every pack has at least one member with Maralith's Imprint, a key ability allowing them to communicate telepathically with those marked. All other ǁko have mental manifestations of either Rylmar or Mpertem, useful in maintaining the morale of the pack on a long hunt or to the detriment of their prey. The second ability of each wild dog tends to correlate with their habitat but not always, these canine surprisingly adaptive.
|
Kaithur |
 As these canines are a widespread species, adapted to many biomes across Alkelbulan, they are capable of inheriting an equally wide range of kaithur. Some are common to specific regions while others vary from pack to pack or even individual to individual. Each wild dog can inherit two of those listed here.
First Ability
Second Ability
|
Anatomy |
|
Habitat |
An iconic beast of Alkelbulan, these canines can be found along the edges of the Shamsi Desert and are spread throughout all regions south of here, especially in KwaZulu. They are at home in savannahs and arid zones, avoiding forests and thick vegetation. They need wide open spaces without obstructions to hunt but may chase prey into scrub, woodland or mountains. They are only occasionally found in Shamsi, usually during great migrations amid the wet season. |
Diet |
 These are a hyper-carnivorous species, packs known to kill around three animals in a day. They hunt mainly ungulates (hooved mammals) in feats of stamina and cooperation. Common prey include kudu, gazelle, impala, bushbuck, wildebeest, warthogs, springbok, duiker, dik-dik, various antelope and zebras. Small reptiles, birds and even insects may also fall prey to a lone wild dog when the opportunity arises, alongside rodents, sahra hare, cane rats and porcupines.
When hunting as a pack, these canine approach stealthily before ambushing and pursuing prey at around 41 mph. The chase can span for 1.2 miles or more, all the while biting their prey repeatedly on the legs, belly and rump until it can no longer run. Smaller prey are simply pulled down and torn apart. Wild dogs are intelligent predators, switching tactics depending on what they are pursuing. As an example, wildebeest are rushed into a panic so that these canines can pick out and isolate vulnerable individuals. Antelope usually flee in circular arcs but ǁko wild dogs will cut across their path to disrupt this evolutionary defense. While medium prey can be killed in 2-5 minutes, large prey like the wildebeest can take an hour or more to wear down. Those with Touch, Venom or Movement manifestations bite and maneuver around difficult prey while those with mental manifestations support their pack-mates or cultivate hopelessness in their prey. All of their tactics come together in making wild dogs one of the most successful predators in Alkelbulan, their success rate around 80%! |
Competition |
Competition with other large predators is constant, sharing their territories with hyena, cheetahs and lions. Lions will wipe out entire packs if they can, not even eating the remains, making ǁko wild dog populations low where lions are abundant. A pack might fight back against a lone lion, sometimes successful, but fatalities are certain. Hyenas make a habit of trying to steal from their kills, lone hyenas attempting to make off with peices and occasionally getting mobbed. Outside of this competition, the ǁko wild dog is a tertiary predator but eagles may take their pups. |
The Pack |
Living in tightknit packs with strong social bonds, they have separate male and female dominance hierarchies. Females are led by the eldest female while the dominant male can be older or younger. Unlike other species, males will usually stay with their natal pack and females will instead disperse. Males usually outnumber females 3:1. Dispersed females seek out another pack, often expelling resident females. This actually reduces inbreeding. Solitary males arent often admitted into new packs by contrast.
ǁKo are a very communicative species, utilizing sounds like twittering, whining, yelping, squealing, whispering, barking, growling, gurling, rumbling, moaning, hooing and sneezing. The sneeze is actually air forcibly pushed through the nose and they use this in a peculiar means of voting! They rally together before a hunt, voting on when to depart by sneezing. If initiated by the dominant pair, three sneezes is enough to depart but from anyone else, closer to ten are needed. They are also known to regurgitate food for their young or other pack members and pups eat from a kill first.
|
Life Cycle |
 Breeding season runs from April to July, one dominant male and female monopolizing reproduction. Females in heat are accompanied by a single male who keeps away other males. Pregnancy lasts 69-73 days and there is usually a 12-14 month interval between pregnancies. An incredible 6-16 pups are born to each litter, an average of 10!
Other litters are eliminated by the dominant female because their pack wouldn't be able to feed so many puppies. The mother will stay with her litter while the others hunt, not allowing anyone to approach them until they can eat solid food at 3-4 weeks. The entire pack provide parental care after this point and pups begin to resemble adults at 7 weeks. They finally abandon the den at 8-10 weeks, following after adults when they hunt. At one year, they are treated as adults. |
 Mythology ǁKo wild dogs are respected by the Saan and Masryeen peoples, the former viewing them as the ultimate hunters. In a Saan myth, there is supposedly a tribe transformed by the deity representing Lunil into ǁko wild dogs and sent to attack his enemies. Whether this tribe is real or not is unknown to outsiders. It is also common practice for Saan shamans to take on a ǁko dog as their familiar. |
Comments