DENVER - Two African wild dog brothers now call the Denver Zoo home.
Jesse and Taco come from the Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina, Kansas but were born at the Pittsburgh Zoo in 2011. The 4-year-old brothers are settling into the zoo's Benson Predator Ridge exhibit.
The zoo hopes they will help build a new breeding pack with 2-year-old African wild dog sisters Tilly and Cheza.
Denver Zoo says they are responsible for breeding and managing African wild dogs since the species arrived to the zoo in 2001.
Since then, 28 puppies have been born at Denver Zoo.
As the largest of Africa's canine species, a full-grown African wild dogs weigh between 40 and 60 pounds and stand 30 inches tall at the shoulder with yellow, black, brown and white markings.
They have very round ears, which not only provide excellent hearing for hunting prey, but also cool them off in the hot African climate, according to the zoo.
African wild dogs are native to the open woodlands and plains of sub-Saharan Africa and are endangered with less than 5,000 in the wild.
To learn more about the species, visit http://www.denverzoo.org/.
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