Three African wild dogs have completed a record-breaking 4,000-kilometre journey across Zambia in search of mates, according to scientists.
Researchers say the journey is the longest recorded dispersal by an African land mammal searching for a breeding partner.
The three brothers travelled for eight months through a landscape increasingly shaped by human activity. They covered about 400km in a straight line but travelled almost 10 times that distance while navigating obstacles.
Their route took them between wildlife areas while avoiding major human settlements, including Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, and industrial zones.
Scientists say the journey offers cautious optimism that wild dog populations in eastern and southern Africa may remain more connected than previously thought.
African wild dogs are among the continent’s rarest predators, with an estimated 6,000 remaining in the wild. Young animals typically leave their birth packs at about two or three years old to find mates elsewhere.
However, the study also highlighted significant threats.
Three female wild dogs followed by researchers almost completed a similar journey, but one became trapped in an illegal snare. Two of the three females eventually died.
Professor Scott Creel of Montana State University said the findings showed both the potential connectivity of wild dog populations and the dangers posed by snares.
The research, published in Ecology, supports calls for wildlife corridors linking protected areas separated by roads, farms and settlements.
