In October 1894 a pair of Cape hunting dogs were acquired by the Royal Zoological Society of Ireland and added to their collection in Phœnix Park. They were purchased from Hagen-beck, in Hamburg, and at the time they came to Dublin they were not quite full grown. Although still existing in considerable numbers over a very wide area in Africa, the Lycaon is by no means a common specimen in Zoological Gardens, and it is rare to meet with it on the lists that are periodically issued by dealers in wild animals.