African Wild Dogs previously inhabited most of central and southern African, but now can be found only in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, parts of Zimbabwe, and Swaziland. This species is classified as Endangered by The World Conservation Union (IUCN) primarily due to habitat loss and degradation from human encroachment. This human urbanization has also resulted in the introduction of diseases to the African Wild Dog population as a result of contact with domesticated canines.

In northern Botswana, one of the largest free ranging populations of African wild dogs remains. Their territory is made up of small protected areas which are broken up by newly established game farms and cattle grazing areas. This fragmented habitat makes survival even more difficult for this highly-endangered species.

Due to this species' status in the wild, Denver Zoo helps fund this important conservation project. This study looks at the behavior surrounding scent marking of African wild dogs in this region. During the study, dogs in several different packs have been radio collared for identification purposes. Researchers then follow several different packs and map and collect scent marks from these known individuals. Experiments were also conducted using scent marks from neighboring and non-neighboring packs to observe the reaction of the dogs, who often found the foreign scents to be offensive territorial intrusions.

This research revealed the highly territorial nature of wild dogs in the area. The study also showed that African wild dogs appeared to respect territorial boundaries based upon scent marks left behind by other dogs. It was additionally discovered that this species has a complex array of compounds in their scent markings, and that each marking can communicate either social, territorial, or temporal information to other dogs. Another interesting observation made during this study was that wild dogs more intensively investigate scent marks if there is a dominant, breeding pair in the pack.