Alpha Male Dhole
An Alpha male Dhole (Asiatic Wild dog) raises his front paw inquisitively in the vivid green forests of Nagarhole National Park, Karnataka, India.
About the Asiatic Wild dog:
The Asiatic Wild dog (Cuon alpinus) known locally as ‘Dhole’ is a canid native to Central, South, East, and Southeast Asia. Other names for dhole include Indian wild dog, red dog and whistling dog.
Although the dhole’s population is small and highly fragmented, these highly adaptable predators inhabit a wide variety of habitats. They can be found in rainforests, boreal forests and scrub forests, shrubland and mountainous regions however they avoid open habitats such as deserts and open plains.
Dhole are highly sociable animals, living in large clans consisting of between 5 and 40 individuals. Living in such large family groups, packs of wild dogs are able to bring down prey much larger than themselves. Main prey species of the dhole include ungulates such as deer, buffalo, gaur, wild boar and goats. In tropical forests, the dhole competes with other apex predators such as tigers and leopards.
The dhole is also known as the ‘whistling dog’, due to its bird-like whistling call. This distinctive adaptation is thought to have evolved to help keep the clan together in thick forest. Unlike the wolf, the dhole neither barks or howls.
Dhole Conservation:
Asiatic Wild dogs are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Populations are decreasing and it is estimated that fewer than 2,500 mature individuals now remain. Primary threats to the species include ongoing habitat loss, reduced prey base, persecution due to livestock predation and disease transfer from domestic and feral dogs.
The Main prey species of Asiatic wild dogs are medium-sized ungulates. Wild ungulates have also suffered high depletion of their population across the dhole’s range. Many ungulate species are now extinct in the region and others are extremely rare, mainly due to excessive hunting and habitat loss.
You can find more about Asiatic Wild dogs here.