Each pack member will take part in looking after and feeding pups, injured dogs and help with hunting. The alpha female will generally kill or steal the other pups. The alphas are the only dogs that can breed but sometimes other members may breed. The females in the pack are generally the alpha female’s sisters and daughters. The males in the pack being brothers or sons of the alpha male so are extremely well bonded. Each pack is made up of 3 to 20 individuals, a pack is led by alpha male and female. Of the social predators, the most social in my opinion is the African wild dog. Leopard and cheetah are mostly solitary except when courting or raising offspring, apart from male cheetah coalitions which vary from 2 to 3 and sometimes 4. The 3 most social predators are the lions, spotted hyena and the African wild dog. We should look at sociality and the social structure of the apex predators. The lightest and smallest of the big 5 is the cheetah with a weight of 35-65kg and height of 60-80 centimetres and a length of 1.8 to 2.8 metres this is because the cheetah must be light and agile for its hunting style to reach speeds of 100 kph because of this they are easily bullied by the other predators. This weight and size has enabled the lion to become the top apex predator by using its muscle to steal kills from the other predators in the list. The hierarchy is made of 3 main categories size and weight, sociality, hunting ability/ success rate.įirstly, let’s start with size and weight the biggest and heaviest of these predators is the lion weighing in at between 130 and 240kg with a height of 1 to 1.3 metres and a length of 2.1 to 3.5 metres from head to tail. So, what make lions top of the league, wild dogs mid table and the cheetah in the relegation zone. In fact, all these predators are vital to the ecosystem out in Africa, they also have their own specific hierarchy this is:
All my life I’ve been fascinated by animals especially the ones I used to fear when I was 5 or 6, these are the big 5 predators of the African savannah, they are Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, spotted hyena and African wild dog.
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