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African Wild Dog

Wild dogs are clever, chaotic pack animals. In career mode one arrives as a rescue with canine distemper.

2 min read · Care guide

ScreenshotAfrican Wild Dog
African Wild Dog in Planet Zoo 2

Key requirements

Disease riskCanine distemper

Habitat set-up

  • Quarantine on arrival
  • A habitat suitable for an African savanna pack

Keeper tips

  • Research canine distemper after the first case, which cuts the chance of future outbreaks.
  • Once a rescued dog has recovered, it can be released.

Full african wild dog care guide

2 min read · Updated 2026-11-07

African wild dogs are clever, chaotic pack animals. They're active all day, they move as a team, and they have a very orderly system for sharing food. You can adopt them from the market as a cash animal, and in the South Africa career zoo one arrives as a rescue case with a serious disease.

The career mode rescue

In the South Africa career zoo you run an animal rehabilitation and training centre. The first rescue to arrive is an African wild dog suffering from canine distemper. Here's how it goes:

  1. Send the dog to quarantine as soon as it arrives. It can't treat the disease in the open habitat, and it would infect other animals.
  2. Let the vets treat it.
  3. Research canine distemper at the research centre. A researcher goes into the habitat to gather data. Researching the disease lowers the chance of future outbreaks.
  4. Improve the dog's welfare while it recovers.
  5. Once it's healthy, you can release it.

This is a good tutorial for how diseases, quarantine and research work together. The same steps apply to every disease in the game.

Building a wild dog habitat

Wild dogs need an African savanna setting:

  • Mixed grassland terrain with some soil and sand.
  • Shelter and a den area.
  • Clean drinking water.
  • A solid barrier. Dogs are diggers and runners, so check the Zoopedia for the exact height and grade.
  • Room to run. Packs are more interesting to watch in a long, open habitat.

Pack life

  • Wild dogs live in packs. Don't keep one on its own unless it's a rescue in recovery.
  • They're highly social and very active, so they're a good choice if you want a habitat that's always moving.
  • Plenty of toys and food-based enrichment keep the pack busy.

Wild dogs in your African area

Wild dogs are a nice early predator for an African area when lions and other big cats are still locked behind higher accreditation tiers. They're usually cash only on the market. Build their habitat next to the savanna, but keep prey species visually screened with elephant grass so they don't get stressed.

Diseases

Canine distemper is the big one. Always quarantine new arrivals, keep habitats clean, and research the disease once you've seen it. If a keeper isn't cleaning often enough, the habitat's disease risk climbs, so make sure the habitat is inside a work zone with enough staff.