- Family portrait
These include foxes, raccoons, domesticated wolves, Cape hunting, bush dogs ... Altogether there are more than ten genera and thirty-one - thirty-seven species.
All animals are similar among themselves: medium height, muscular body, thick hair, warm undercoat, long bushy tail. All animals have strong legs and adapted to fast long run. Paws have hard pads; claws are strong, not sharp and not drawn. Jaws are long and strong, sharp fangs. They grab their prey with them, and shred the meat and bones of large teeth. The nose is elongated with superb sense of smell. These animals have excellently developed vision and hearing.
- What is similar?
All canines save from overheating in the same way: open their jaws, hung long tongue: saliva evaporates and becomes not so hot.
- Canine feeding
All of canine are carnivorous animals and earn their living by hunting. They eat little animals of different sizes, but the larger canine representatives can gather in a flock and hunt large ungulates.
They eat carrion and most of their diet consists of plant food.
- Hunt
They hunt in different ways: by ear can detect a rodent in the snow or in the grass, then jump up and land vertically on the prey, crushing it with fore paws; they track down large prey - using their excellent sense of smell. Canines harass large animals for a long, long time of chase.
- Social life
Almost all canines are social animals. They are characterized by monogamy: they form a pair for life! A female with a male care for and raise offspring together.
Large species of canine form swarms that form near the dominant pair. Each member of their flocks have strong relations, which are based on a hierarchy - that is, one subject to another. That is why, hunting together, they are never left without a catch! Moreover, as a rule, the hunt is successful that the bag is several times bigger than they are.
- Behavior
Their behavior is very complex: they are well trained, easily and quickly adapt to the conditions of life, even in varying conditions, as tundra or tropical forest. Nevertheless, it is difficult for them to live with a man - canines like freedom!
- Close relatives
The closest relatives of the domestic dog are a raccoon dog, bat-eared fox, red wolf, domesticated wolf - in spite of their names.
