By Benson Daniel
Three endangered African wild dogs in Zambia have completed the longest recorded journey by an African mammal, travelling 4,126 kilometres over about eight months in search of new territory and potential mates.
The three male littermates, known as the Mayukuyuku males, left their birth pack in Kafue National Park in western Zambia in 2025 after reaching an age when young wild dogs typically leave their family groups to establish new territories.
Instead of remaining close to their birthplace, the brothers embarked on an extraordinary journey eastward through some of Zambia’s most challenging landscapes. Their route took them through areas affected by human activity, including roads, settlements and the heavily populated Copperbelt region.
The dogs travelled around cities including Kitwe, Ndola and Kabwe, at times changing direction to avoid heavily developed areas. They eventually moved towards the Luangwa Valley ecosystem, where they reached a game management area between South Luangwa and Lower Zambezi national parks.
By April 2026, the brothers had covered 4,126 kilometres, equivalent to about 2,564 miles. Researchers said the journey is the longest recorded dispersal by any African mammal and also the longest known movement of an African wild dog.
The direct distance between their starting point and destination was far shorter, at about 546 kilometres, showing just how much ground the animals covered while navigating obstacles and searching for suitable habitat.
Researchers tracked the dogs using GPS collars as part of a wider study involving 19 groups of dispersing African wild dogs. Four groups covered a combined 9,863 kilometres during their movements across Zambia and neighbouring regions.
The findings, published in the journal Ecology, provide new evidence that wild dogs are capable of crossing large areas outside protected parks. Their ability to move between distant ecosystems could help maintain connections between populations of the endangered species.
African wild dogs, also known as painted dogs, are among Africa’s most threatened large carnivores. Scientists estimate that only about 6,600 adults remain across 39 populations.
Their survival is threatened by habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, road accidents, disease and snares used in illegal hunting. These dangers become particularly serious when animals leave protected areas in search of new territory.
The journey also demonstrated the risks faced by other dispersing wild dogs. A female from another tracked group previously travelled more than 2,300 kilometres before being killed by a hunter’s snare.
The researchers said the movements show why maintaining wildlife corridors between protected areas is important. Large carnivores need space to move, find mates and establish new territories, while isolated populations can face greater risks of declining genetic and demographic diversity.
The remarkable journey of the three brothers therefore offers both a conservation success story and a warning. Zambia still has landscapes through which wildlife can move over enormous distances, but increasing human development could gradually close those routes.
For conservationists, the record-setting trek demonstrates that protecting individual national parks may not be enough. Keeping the wider connections between wildlife areas open could be essential to ensuring that endangered species such as African wild dogs continue to survive.
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