It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus Lycaon, which is distinguished from Canis by dentition highly specialised for a hypercarnivorous diet and by a lack of dewclaws.

It is estimated that there are around 6,600 adults (including 1,400 mature individuals) living in 39 subpopulations, all threatened by habitat fragmentation, human persecution and outbreaks of disease.

The African wild dog is a specialized hunter of terrestrial ungulates, mostly hunting at dawn and dusk, but also displays diurnal activity.

Like other canids, the African wild dog regurgitates food for its young but also extends this action to adults as a central part of the pack's social unit.

[8] The African wild dog was scientifically described in 1820 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck after examining a specimen from the coast of Mozambique, which he named Hyaena picta.

The specific epithet pictus (Latin for ‘painted’), which derived from the original picta, was later returned to it, in conformity with the International Rules on Taxonomic Nomenclature.

[15] The African wild dog possesses the most specialized adaptations among the canids for coat colour and diet and for pursuing its prey through its cursorial (running) ability.

In 2019 a study indicated that the lycaon lineage diverged from Cuon and Canis 1.7 million years ago through this suite of adaptations, and these occurred at the same time as large ungulates (its prey) diversified.

[16] The oldest African wild dog fossil dates back to 200,000 years ago and was found in HaYonim Cave, Israel.

[1] The species Canis (Xenocyon) falconeri shared the African wild dog's absent first metacarpal (dewclaw), though its dentition was still relatively unspecialised.

falconeri's lack of the first metacarpal is a poor indication of phylogenetic closeness to the African wild dog, and the dentition was too different to imply ancestry.

The study proposes that the dhole's distribution may have once included the Middle East, from where it may have admixed with the African wild dog in North Africa.

Its dentition differs from that of Canis by the degeneration of the last lower molar, the narrowness of the canines and proportionately large premolars, which are the largest relative to body size of any carnivore other than hyenas.

[36] The heel of the lower carnassial M1 is crested with a single, blade-like cusp, which enhances the shearing capacity of the teeth, thus the speed at which prey can be consumed.

[41] The African wild dog have strong social bonds, stronger than those of sympatric lions and spotted hyenas; thus, solitary living and hunting are extremely rare in the species.

However, larger packs have been observed and temporary aggregations of hundreds of individuals may have gathered in response to the seasonal migration of vast springbok herds in Southern Africa.

[36] The species differs from most other social carnivorans in that males remain in the natal pack, while females disperse (a pattern also found in primates such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and red colobuses).

[15] The species does have an extensive vocal repertoire consisting of twittering, whining, yelping, squealing, whispering, barking, growling, gurling, rumbling, moaning and hooing.

[45] The copulatory tie characteristic of mating in most canids has been reported to be absent[46] or very brief (less than one minute)[47] in African wild dog, possibly an adaptation to the prevalence of larger predators in its environment.

Because the amount of food necessary to feed more than two litters would be impossible to acquire by the average pack, breeding is strictly limited to the dominant female, which may kill the pups of subordinates.

As a result, the earlier litters provide stable hunters whilst the higher ratio of dispersals amongst the females stops a pack from getting too big.

Researchers assert that wild dogs in Botswana "use a specific vocalization (the sneeze) along with a variable quorum response mechanism in the decision-making process [to go hunting at a particular moment]".

They will rush at wildebeest to panic the herd and isolate a vulnerable individual, but pursue territorial antelope species (which defend themselves by running in wide circles) by cutting across the arc to foil their escape.

[57] A species-wide study showed that by preference, where available, five prey species were the most regularly selected, namely the greater kudu, Thomson's gazelle, impala, Cape bushbuck and blue wildebeest.

[59] Footage from Lower Zambezi National Park taken in 2021 showed a large pack of African wild dogs hunting an adult, healthy buffalo, though this is apparently extremely rare.

African wild dogs rarely scavenge, but have on occasion been observed to appropriate carcasses from spotted hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, lions, and animals caught in snares.

[81] Over the next 16 years, local ecological knowledge revealed this area to be a significant refuge for African wild dogs and an important wildlife corridor connecting Kenya's Tsavo National Parks with the Horn of Africa in an increasingly human-dominated landscape.

[84][85] According to Enno Littmann, the people of Ethiopia's Tigray Region believed that injuring a wild dog with a spear would result in the animal dipping its tail in its wounds and flicking the blood at its assailant, causing instant death.

Some San hunters will smear African wild dog bodily fluids on their feet before a hunt, believing that doing so will give them the animal's boldness and agility.

Nevertheless, the species does not figure prominently in San rock art, with the only notable example being a frieze in Mount Erongo showing a pack hunting two antelopes.