Can an African wild dog kill a human?

In terms of their social organization, they're very similar to human families. We [McCreery and African Wild Dog Conservancy co-founder Bob Robbins] have studied their behavior for years. Wild dogs have a high investment in friendly and submissive behaviors. They don't bare their canines like other dogs. read more

Any dog can kill a human. Usually infected wounds that are untreated have been the culprit, historically. That said, these are not known to be dangerous to humans. read more

For a very long time they were considered pests though there was little to no evidence suggesting so. They would only go after livestock if desperate, and to this day there are no recorded incidents in Africa of wild dogs attacking humans. In the wild, lions are the dogs’ main threat. read more

We contacted African wild dog experts Rosie Woodroffe, senior research fellow at London's Institute of Zoology, and Kim McCreery, of the African Wild Dog Conservancy in Tucson, Arizona, to get some insight into the animals' behavior. read more