1979 GOLD ZAMBIA 250 KWACHA PCGS MINT STATE 65 AFRICAN WILD DOG ONLY 455 MINTED

REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SERIES – AFRICAN WILD DOG

250 GOLD KWACHA COIN CERTIFIED BY PCGS MINT STATE 65

ONLY 455 MINTED!

OBV: HEAD OF PRESIDENT KENNETH KUANDA (FIRST PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA, SERVED 1964-1991) RIGHT; DATE BENEATH.

REV: AFRICAN WILD DOG STANDING ON PATCH OF GROUND RIGHT.

KM# 20

THE AFRICAN WILD DOG (LYCAON PICTUS), NATIVE TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, IS THE LARGEST SPECIES OF THE CANID FAMILY IN AFRICA, AND IS ALSO KNOWN AS AFRICAN HUNTING DOG, AFRICAN PAINTED DOG, PAINTED HUNTING DOG, OR PAINTED WOLF.

CLASSIFIED AS ENDANGERED, ITS OVERALL ADULT POPULATION IS ESTIMATED AT AROUND 6,600 INDIVIDUALS. HUMAN PERSECUTION, HABITAT FRAGMENTATION AND DISEASE ARE CITED AS THE LEADING CAUSE OF THIS SPECIES’ DECLINE. HAVING FEW NATURAL PREDATORS, THE LION IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF DIRECT INTERSPECIES MORTALITY.

HAVING BEEN LARGELY EXTERMINATED IN NORTH AND WEST AFRICA, AND REDUCED GREATLY IN NUMBER IN CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST AFRICA, THE SPECIES' MAJORITY POPULATION CAN BE FOUND IN SOUTHERN AND SOUTHERN EAST AFRICA.

THE AFRICAN WILD DOG IS A HIGHLY SOCIAL PREDATOR, LIVING IN PACKS, AND IS A SPECIALIZED DAYTIME HUNTER OF ANTELOPES, CHASING THEIR PREY UNTIL EXHAUSTION OVERTAKES THEM. THE CHEETAH IS THE ONLY OTHER LARGE PRIMARILY DIURNAL PREDATOR IN AFRICA. THEY ALSO USE DIFFERENT SPECIFIC HUNTING STRATEGIES DEPENDING ON TYPE OF PREY. IT TAKES ONLY 2-5 MINUTES FOR A PACK TO KILL MEDIUM SIZED QUARRY, AND AROUND UP TO HALF AN HOUR TO BRING DOWN A LARGER ANIMAL. FAST EATERS, THEY CAN CONSUME A GAZELLE IN 15 MINUTES. THE KILL SUCCESS RATE FROM CHASES BY AFRICAN WILD DOGS IS MUCH HIGHER THAN THAT OF LIONS AND HYENAS, AT AROUND 60% TO 90%, MAKING THE SPECIES HIGHLY EFFECTIVE HUNTERS.

AFRICAN WILD DOGS OFTEN COMMUNICATE BY SNEEZING, “VOTING” IN TURN BY SNEEZE, INITIATED BY THE DOMINANT, TO ESTABLISH PACK ASSENT FOR DEPARTURE FOR A HUNT

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CONTAINS 33.63 GRAMS OF .900 FINE GOLD

(.9732 OZ AGW)

34 MM IN DIAMETER

ONLY 455 MINTED!