These endangered wild dogs crossed 2,563 miles through Zambia. Scientists say their journey could help save the species

Three African wild dogs left their pack in Zambia with a simple biological problem to solve: they needed to find a place where they could establish themselves and eventually breed. What happened next was far more remarkable. The three brothers covered a distance of about 2,563 miles through Zambia in approximately nine months; a distance that is comparable to the size of the United States.

They covered the distance through lands that were both protected and affected a great deal by human intervention.

The journey, tracked using GPS collars, is the longest documented land movement by an African mammal, according to research published in Ecology. CNN reported that the trek has given scientists a rare look at how endangered African wild dogs can still move between populations separated by enormous distances.


For conservationists, that matters for a reason that goes beyond the record itself. African wild dogs need connected populations if they are to maintain healthy numbers over the long term. The animals' ability to travel across large areas suggests that wildlife populations that appear geographically separated may still have opportunities to exchange individuals and genes.

But the same journey also exposed the dangers facing them.

The journey began when three brothers left their pack

The three males were born into the Mayukuyuku pack in Kafue National Park in western Zambia. They were about three years old when they left their birth group in August 2025, CNN reported.

Leaving a pack is not unusual for African wild dogs. Their social structure encourages dispersal among their younger members. Normally, breeding tends to take place between only a few selected members, namely the dominant male and female; others have the option of either remaining with the group and aspiring to become dominant or leaving the group in search of another territory and unrelated mates.

The three brothers chose the second option.

Their first movements were already revealing. They travelled hundreds of miles and approached areas near major Zambian cities before turning away. Researchers noticed that the dogs behaved differently when they moved outside protected areas.

Instead of spending as much time hunting, resting and moving in a relatively balanced pattern, they adopted what researcher Scott Creel described as a form of “travel mode,” CNN reported. They started walking more directly, which seemed to help them traverse an area that had a lot of dangers because of humans.

They were being tracked through satellite-linked GPS collars, making it possible for scientists to piece together their route when they could not do so in a traditional study in the field.

GPS revealed a hidden network across Zambia

The most important part of the journey may not have been the distance itself.

The research team had spent years tracking African wild dogs across Zambia, and the data showed that dispersing animals were capable of moving between areas that conservation maps can make look isolated.

The three brothers eventually travelled west and then eastward toward the Luangwa Valley, one of the important strongholds for African wild dogs in the region. By April 2026, they had completed their extraordinary journey.

Researchers believe the males likely encountered females after reaching the region, although the remoteness of their final location made it difficult to confirm exactly what happened to them.

CNN reported that the wider tracking effort has revealed movement between wild dog populations across seven Zambian national parks. However, dispersing individuals have also traversed international borders, thus showing that the species does not necessarily respect human-made borders within the confines of protected habitats.

This is important to note when taking into consideration an endangered species where isolation of populations may render the individuals vulnerable.

If animals can make movements between remote populations, they would be able to mate with individuals outside their own populations.

That reduces the risk associated with small, genetically isolated populations and gives struggling groups a chance to reconnect naturally.

Professor Scott Creel, from Montana State University, who is one of the authors of the study, said to CNN that "the degree of connectivity turned out to be far more extensive than I expected when I started working on wild dogs decades ago."

This discovery is rare for conservationists because it provides them with proof that wildlife corridors and unspoiled territories are still functioning as links between populations.

The same landscape that connects them can kill them

There is a darker side to the record journey.

Even though African wild dogs might cover extremely long distances, this does not necessarily mean that they are traversing pristine territory because their paths now more often than not go through roads, settlements, agricultural land, and other man-altered landscapes.

One of the clearest dangers is the wire snare.

CNN reported that one of the Mayukuyuku females was caught in a snare after dispersing with her sisters. The devices are generally placed by bushmeat hunters targeting larger animals such as antelope, rather than wild dogs themselves.

That distinction offers little protection to the dogs.

A snare catches whichever animal happens to pass through the area. Because African wild dogs are highly social and often remain close to injured pack members, one trapped animal can place others at risk as they return to it.

Researchers tracked the movements of the Mayukuyuku sisters as they returned to their injured sibling. Eventually, another sister also disappeared. A GPS collar later recovered from the area strengthened researchers' conclusion that she had died as well, according to CNN.

For Creel, the issue cannot be separated from the other difficulties that the community faces in relying on bushmeat.

The removal of snares and greater enforcement will work, but it is necessary for conservationists to consider why the snares were set in the first place. CNN reported Creel's view that poverty and a lack of economic alternatives are important parts of the problem.