Immobilisation and Socialisation Strategies in African Wild Dogs ( Lycaon pictus )

Managing social carnivores under human care often requires veterinary procedures and changes in group composition, both of which can destabilise social relationships. We evaluated whether synchronised reversible immobilisation followed by a four‐component social integration protocol could support early pack formation in African wild dogs ( Lycaon pictus ) housed at a conservation facility in India. Seven subadult wild dogs (four males, three females) were immobilised intramuscularly with medetomidine and ketamine, transferred into a new enclosure, and reversed with atipamezole. After recovery, the group was managed using four components: olfactory cue unification, controlled tactile familiarity, environmental continuity within a shared space, and staged resource sharing. Social behaviour was observed in daily 1‐h sessions over 372 days for a total of 372 h and 5807 coded observations. Greeting ceremonies (802 observations; 13.8%), allogrooming (730; 12.6%), follow/join behaviour (708; 12.2%), submissive displays (705; 12.1%), play responses (651; 11.2%) and friendly approach/contact (631; 10.9%) were the most frequent behaviours; positive socialisation and cohesion‐related behaviours comprised 4851 observations (83.5%), whereas aggression (89; 1.5%) and avoidance/withdrawal (43; 0.7%) were uncommon. All animals tolerated anaesthesia and recovered without major complications under routine clinical monitoring. A later breeding event within the integrated group produced a litter of 10 pups after a recorded gestation of 70 days, indicating that cohesion was maintained beyond the initial introduction period. Together, these findings support the practical value of combining reversible immobilisation with structured postrecovery social management in ex situ African wild dogs.