Wild Dogs
There are about 35 different species of wild dogs. Besides the ®wolf¯, ®coyote¯ and ®fox¯ are the bush dog, fennec, jackal, dhole, raccoon dog, African wild dog, and dingo to name a few. Wild dogs have adapted to more different places in the world than any other group of predators. For example, wild dogs that live in grasslands may be tall so they can see over tall grass. A few wild dogs live where there is a lot of brush, so they have short ®legs¯ for running through it. Some living in forests are good tree climbers, and those that live along rivers are good swimmers. No matter where they live, the main reason wild dogs can survive in so many places is that they eat almost anything. If they can't find one kind of ®prey¯, they will hunt something else. And when meat is scarce, they eat plants and insects.
The very first wild dogs lived in North America. These dogs were excellent hunters and adapted quickly to new climates and surroundings. Over thousands of years, they spread to every continent except Antarctica. Their bodies gradually developed in different ways to survive in different parts of the world. These changes led to the different species of wild dogs that exist today.
