Hunting by Sight: teacher key

African Wild Dogs, grade 7 edition, written for 7th grade. African wild dogs find prey with their eyes, not their noses, and a white tail tip may help the pack stay together. Read about how they hunt, how fast they run and how a pack raises its pups.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. What do African wild dogs use to find prey?
   • Smell
   • Sight (answer)
   • Howls
2. What is a wild dog's white tail tip thought to do?
   • Work like a flag that helps the pack keep each other in sight (answer)
   • Keep the den cool
   • Scare away other animals
3. Which statement is true about wild dogs and howling?
   • They howl louder than wolves
   • They do not howl (answer)
   • They only howl at dusk
4. At about what age are wild dog pups weaned?
   • Five weeks (answer)
   • Five months
   • Five years
5. A wild dog hunts mostly by sight. Which time of day does the page say they hunt?
   • In the early morning and around dusk (answer)
   • Only in the dark of night
   • Only at noon
6. What does estimate mean in: an estimate, not a measurement?
   • A careful guess (answer)
   • A precise count
   • A kind of collar

Words

• prey: hunted animals
• weaned: off mother's milk
• estimate: careful guess
• fragmentation: cut into pieces
• littermates: pups born together