Thank you for contacting Chester Zoo, the UK's Number One Charity Zoo.
To give you a little background, our painted dogs naturally live in a pack which is made up of a specific hierarchy or pecking order and sometimes the dogs go through changes in their hierarchy.
During this time the dogs will push each other around and can be very vocal and these events can sometimes develop into scuffles. It is very common for packs of wild dogs to fight in this way.
Unfortunately, on this occasion, the dog in question received an injury to his leg and, despite the best efforts of keeping and veterinary staff, we very sadly had to take the difficult decision to put him to sleep.
We fully understand that this is distressing but we can assure you that we did everything we could to help him.
The group remain together and are very calm currently.
We are sorry we could not give you better news and would thank you for taking the time to contact us.
Yours Sincerely,
Joshua
Guest Experience Team"