World African Wild Dog Day
August 26 · Level 8 · #516 of 2238
World African Wild Dog Day, also known as World Painted Wolf Day, draws attention to one of Africa's rarest predators. Only a few thousand of these animals remain in the wild, so every bit of attention helps.
How it is celebrated: conservation groups and zoos share stories about pack life, give talks and raise money to protect the animals' roaming grounds. Nature fans swap safari photos and draw these patchy-coated hunters.
The species name, Lycaon pictus, means painted wolf. Every dog has its own coat pattern, like a fingerprint, and researchers have found that a pack sometimes votes on whether to set off hunting by sneezing.