Gold Coin AFRICAN PAINTED WOLVES 2012 - 1oz

The 2012 pure gold Natura coin series features "Nature’s Families" as the theme and depicts the Painted Wolf of Africa, also known as the African Wild Dog.

Their scientic name Lycaon pictus is derived from the Greek for "wolf " and the Latin for "painted". Each animal has an irregular mottled coat, the tan, black and white patterns unique to each individual.

Although their behaviour is similar to that of the wolf of the northern hemisphere, they differ from dogs and wolves in that they have only four, not five, toes on each foot. Their large rounded ears are characteristic and contribute to an extremely acute sense of hearing. These slim, long-legged hunters are extremely social animals and live in closely knit packs lead by an alpha pair. On each of the four Natura coin reverses, a different aspect of their lives is portrayed. The common obverse of the series depicts the silhouetted shapes of a pack of African Painted Wolves at a river.

On the R100 (1oz) Natura coin, two adults are shown patrolling the pack’s home range. The African Painted Wolves are great roamers and need large territories. These territories vary in size depending on the number of pack members and the nature of the terrain. Due to human encroachment on their natural territory, there are only a few free roaming wild packs in existence which live outside the protection of national parks and reserves.

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