Who’s the best hunter?

I recently found myself unexplainably involved in a conversation about which predator in the animal kingdom is the greatest hunter. My instinct was to pick something large and powerful like a lion, tiger, or bear (oh my!). Then, I started thinking and found myself leaning toward animals that are fast and cunning like a cheetah, falcon, or hawk. I started to run the gamut bringing in spiders, sharks, and snakes (pit vipers in particular). By the end of our trip through the virtual zoo of predatory creatures, there was still no clear winner.

So, I immediately took to the internet where it become quickly apparent that among “wildlife experts”, all of the animals we had been tossing about fell well short of the correct answer. Evidently, the best hunter is actually the African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus).

Here’s why.

African wild dogs hunt almost entirely during the day when they can maximize their incredible senses (vision, hearing, and smell). That means they must always be working on their next meal during the time when everyone else can see pretty clearly. For the record, when I say “everyone else” I mean other animals that might make for a fine African wild dog kinda meal. Anyways, if they’re not successful during their normal business hours, they’ll continue hunting through the night if necessary.

They rely on their phenomenal senses, stamina, proven strategies, and the strength of their pack to hunt their prey. Those hunts frequently involve chases that are measured in miles. They face tough competition from hyenas and other predators so, once they’ve identified their prey, they quickly formulate their plan of attack and then execute that plan without delay.

Each dog in the pack has a specific role in the hunt. One dog may run out in front to scatter a herd and help sort out the weakest member. Others in the pack, run behind the first dog to move the herd in one direction and the prey in another. The remaining dogs run in the periphery to cut off avenues of escape and ultimately help bring down their target. It’s a structured, disciplined, and strategic approach that relies on the focus of individual operators performing as a cohesive and unified team.

The more I read about the African wild dog and their hunting strategies, the more I began to see similarities that we, as individuals and as a team, share. Individually, we each have our strengths, talents, and roles. When we combine those and come together as a team, we operate at an entirely different level. Like the African wild dog, we can work independently in our areas of expertise but only excel and thrive when we work together as a team. Woof! Wait. Do African wild dogs bark? I’ll have to look that up next.