African wild dogs are carnivores always thought to hunt in packs. But new DNA analysis has found they also eat small birds and hares and may hunt alone.

We found for the first time that wild dogs also eat smaller species, such as two francolin bird species, the Cape hare and the vlei rat. This indicates that the wild dogs don't always hunt in packs.

However, the DNA metabarcoding also revealed seven other types of animals that wild dogs eat, including the Cape hare. We didn’t know before that wild dogs eat these animals.

We found for the first time that wild dogs also eat smaller species, such as two francolin bird species, the Cape hare and the vlei rat. This indicates that the wild dogs don't always hunt in packs.

However, the DNA metabarcoding also revealed seven other types of animals that wild dogs eat, including the Cape hare. We didn't know before that wild dogs eat these animals.