If you let loose 20 rottweilers in the African savannah, what are the chances they will adapt successfully?

Question

Do you think they will be able to adapt and breed and hunt and become a wild dog

Answer 1

Zero. They would all be dead within a couple weeks.

Answer 2

They are more likely to be successfully digested.  

Answer 3

It is an interesting (hopefully allways theoretical) question, but

the changes are almost zero. The African "heat" is the least of their problems. Most of the Savannah is actually high altitude summer rainfall plains with surprisingly mild summers by European standards.But tick fever will claim most of them in the first few months. Actually winter cold may pose a problem as well. Rottweilers are too big to use the old Aardvark and Jackal tunnels for shelter. They typically lack the ability to dig tunnels big enough for themselves. Where I live, there are a few nights a year when (particularly short haired breeds of) dogs cannot sleep outside, exposed.

Other than dingos (which is a very "primitive" dog unlike a Rottweiler), dogs are not well suited to fend for themselves. Most feral dogs still live on the edges of civilisation.

The dog's closest relative on the savannah (such as the Black backed Jackal) eeks out a living off scraps from kills, wild berries, insects, small mammals, and by avoiding conflict with bigger predators.  That's something a Rottweiler is unlikely to do. Avoiding conflict is the key here. Personally, while I know they are not as aggresive as often portrayed, I don't think Rottweiler have the capacity to avoid conflict. Jackals have incredible stammina, which allows them to cover many, many miles in day to collect food. Jackals are very "pragmatic" compared to dogs, and not as worried about the effect on their ego when they back off. Rottweilers will quickly hunt out all the vulnerable antelope in a small area. Rottweilers are admittedly intelligent dogs, but they lack the patient temperament of a Jackal, and being of heavier build, they lack the much required stamina.

Unlike Cats, Dogs and dog like animals (which includes Wolves, Foxes and Jackal) actually require some plant matter (such as berries) in their diet, which adds to their requirement to roam large areas.

Dogs are also easier to "read" than most wild predators. Rottweilers don't bark as much as some other dogs, which is a good start, but not good enough. It's one thing to maul a rabbit in a back yard, but another thing to snatch one small mammal out of a colony, and remain inconspicious. A Jackal never barks when excited (neither do wolves).

Jackals don't kill when they're not hungry. Dog's do. That "instinct to kill" for the sake of it, is extremely bad medium to long term survival strategy. It depletes the food source, and it gives away the identity of the predator.

Jackals hunt alone, or in pairs. African Wild Dog's do hunt in packs, but they are different animals, with different strategies (also having a lot of stamina though). The African wild dog is (despite it's name) not as closely related to dogs, as are Jackals.

Even if the area does not have lions. Then yes a Rottweiler is fierce enough to win a fight against caracal, foxes, jackal, and cheetah. But what for? What would the fight picking bring them, apart from the risks? Sooner or later the dog is going to get killed, or leave a fight as a winner, but severely weakened and vulnerable.

No, face it, dogs do well as man's best friend, and that's really their only chance.

Ps:

Thanks Leolupus: You are correct regarding Hyenas. Thank you for pointing that out. I have removed the reference. Also, I should have qualified what I meant with (the when of) tail wagging, but I have now removed it.

Answer 4

Absolutely not. While I am not a bio-science or ecosystem professional, this just does not make sense to me. (Not saying its a dumb question). For starters, they would be hunted by other animals more fierce than themselves, including hyenas, cheetahs and lions. I don't think Rotts would be very well suited to African heat, either. In order for them to have any chance of survival for any period of time they would need to act as a pack, which is not in their nature. While a dog or two may be able to adapt under certain circumstances, as a whole I don't think the idea would work. If they lived then I'm sure they could breed to some extent, but 20 dogs (even 5 males and 15 females) would not be able to reproduce too quickly to make them a 'standard' species you would find in Africa. Interesting idea though =)

Answer 5

I don't think any animal that has not evolved there could survive there.

There have been thousands(actually I don't know how many but would like to know if someone out there new) of generations that have developed survival mechanisms both socially and physiologically.

Answer 6

Their chances of survival would be slim to nil. Dogs are domestic animals - they have been selectively bred for thousands of generations to be dependent on humans. They would not be able feed themselves, having no idea how to hunt (feral dogs usually live on the fringes of human society, scavenging for their food from among our leavings). They would also have other predators to contend with - lions, hyenas and leopards would all see them as competitors and kill them. Rottweilers are strong dogs, and might be able to defend themselves against smaller predators such as cheetahs and African wild dogs, but they would stand no chance against powerful wild animals like lions or hyenas. They would also be susceptible to local diseases and parasites, which wild animals have evolved to cope with.

In response to Kwaaikat's answer, I would just like to point out that adult jackals, wolves and other canids DO wag their tails - just watch a pack of wolves greeting each other. A dog wags its tail when greeting its human owner because it has inherited this behaviour from its ancestor, the grey wolf, greeting another member of its pack. Also, regarding his comments about hyenas - hyenas are not canids. They belong to their own family, the Hyaenidae, which is actually more closely related to cats than to dogs.