African Wild Dogs: Ultimate Predators?
Many books, papers, and television shows have created an image of the
African wild dog as the ultimate predator. According to these sources, the
dogs' coordinated teamwork and their unusual endurance help them catch
about eighty percent of their
prey. A 2012 study tested that notion.
Researchers fit a pack of wild dogs with special collars that recorded the
dogs' positions and speeds. The data that the collars recorded allowed the
researchers to learn what the dogs did when they weren't being observed.
The results provided a surprising contrast with the dogs' fierce reputation.
The dogs never used teamwork in their hunts; they chased their prey over
short distances as opposed to long runs; and instead of eighty percent, they
brought down only about sixteen percent of their prey.
What is the main idea of the passage?