DHOLE

Cuon alpinus

Physical Description

The Dhole is also known as the Asiatic or Indian Wild Dog, the Red Dog, and the Whistling Hunter. The Dhole differs from other members of the Canidae, or dog, family in that it has a thicker muzzle, one less molar tooth on each side of its lower jaw, and extra teats. The Dhole’s fur is dense and thick.

The colour of the Dhole’s fur ranges from pale golden yellow to greyish brown to dark reddish brown. The Dhole’s underparts (including the Dhole’s throat, chest, belly, paws, and the insides of the Dhole’s legs) are paler or white, the Dhole’s rounded ears are lined with paler or white fur, and the Dhole’s long, bushy tail is tipped with a darker colour, usually black.

The Dhole often also has an area of darker fur on its back. In general, the dholes living in the northern regions of the Dhole’s range have longer and lighter fur than do the dholes living in the southern regions. The Dhole’s eyes are amber-coloured.

The Dhole is of average size compared to other canids. The Dhole’s legs are relatively short. The Dhole stands 42 to 55 centimetres (16 to 21 inches) high at the shoulder. The Dhole’s head and body length measures 88 to 113 centimetres (35 to 44 inches) and the Dhole’s tail measures 40 to 50 centimetres (16 to 20 inches) long.

Female dholes weigh 12 to 16 kilograms (26 to 35 pounds). Males are significantly larger, weighing 14 to 18 kilograms (31 to 40 pounds). The Dhole’s short, square muzzle affords it a powerful bite.

Habitat

The Dhole inhabits a wide range of forested areas, typically in the mountains and hills. The Dhole may also be found in meadows or on the steppe. The Dhole’s distribution is correlated with prey abundance, water availability, the absence of human disturbance, and the presence of potential den sites. The Dhole may build its den in rock crevices, porcupine burrows, hyena dens, or similar sites.

The Dhole’s historical range extended across South, Central, and East Asia. The Dhole has since disappeared from much of its former range and its population has become fragmented in many regions. Today, the Dhole probably still occurs, in limited numbers, in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Russia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, and Indonesia. In Tibet, the Dhole may be found in the forested mountains of Amdo and Kham. In India and Nepal, the Dhole primarily occurs in protected national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, including the Bandipur and Nagerahole National Parks in Karnakata State.

Eating Habits

The Dhole is mostly carnivorous, preying primarily on medium-sized ungulates, such as spotted and sambar deer, small deer, wild sheep, and wild goats. The Dhole also eats wild boars, rodents, hares, reptiles, insects, berries, and occasionally monkeys. The Dhole rarely attacks livestock.

Hunting in packs, the Dhole is capable of bringing down prey up to ten times its size. Packs rely on their sense of smell to locate prey within densely vegetated areas. Since the Dhole is a good swimmer, sometimes packs drive prey into water. The Dhole is capable of devouring up to four kilograms (nine pounds) of meat in an hour and often begins to feed upon its prey before the prey has died. The Dhole viciously defends its kills from other animals, including tigers and bears.

Behaviour and Reproduction

The Dhole is primarily active at dusk and dawn, and may also be active at night. The Dhole lives in hierarchical packs of five to 12 animals, consisting of an alpha female, an alpha male, and their offspring. There are generally more males than females in a pack, and there is usually only one breeding female per pack. Packs occasionally aggregate to form groups of up to 40 animals. Though packs are hierarchical, members are rarely aggressive with each other.

Packs inhabit a territory that ranges from 40 to 84 square kilometres (15 to 34 square miles), depending on the availability of food and water and the presence or absence of pups. Packs with pups tend to occupy smaller territories. Scent marking is used to delineate territories.

Dholes use several vocalizations to communicate with each other, including a distinctive whistle that is used to reassemble pack members that have become separated from each other in the forest. Dholes can jump higher than 2.3 metres (7.5 feet), so they may also jump up in the air to “get their bearings” (ARKive).

The Dhole reaches sexual maturity at about one year of age. The mating season takes place from September to March. After a gestation period of 60 to 63 days, each female dhole gives birth to typically three to four but occasionally up to ten pups. Pups are soot-coloured at birth, but take on their adult colour by the time they reach three months of age. Births take place in a den. Dens may be shared with other breeding females. Pack members help to take care of mothers and their litters, bringing them food (in the form of regurgitated meat) and guarding the dens.

The pups begin to explore the area outside the den at ten weeks of age, and start hunting with the pack when they are seven months old. Pack members make sure pups get their fair share of food at pack kills. Pups play and fight with each other. Dominance orders are usually established among a pack’s pups by the time they begin hunting with the pack. When pups reach maturity, some stay with their parents’ pack and others leave. The Dhole’s life span is approximately ten years. In captivity, dholes have lived for up to 16 years. Dholes are shy and avoid humans when possible.

Present Status

The Dhole is categorized as Vulnerable in the 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is listed under Appendix II of CITES. The Dhole is under second class protection in China and is included in Schedule II, Part I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972.

Threats to Survival

The most significant threat to the Dhole’s survival is habitat loss and degradation. Deforestation has occurred throughout the Dhole’s habitat range due to logging, collection of wood for fuel, agricultural expansion, and the construction of human settlements. In India, areas of the Dhole’s habitat have also been lost as a result of flooding caused by dam construction. Habitat loss and degradation affects the Dhole directly and through reductions in the Dhole’s prey base. Another important threat to the Dhole’s survival is disease, especially in India, where the Dhole has come into close contact with humans and domestic dogs. Canine distemper and rabies are the diseases most often contracted by dholes in India.

The Dhole has also been hunted and persecuted by humans. Humans have poisoned, trapped, shot, and destroyed the den sites of the Dhole, for various reasons. The Dhole has been killed for food, to obtain its fur, because of the perceived threat it poses to livestock, and because some hunters view it as a competitor. In some areas, humans steal the Dhole’s kills, waiting until a pack has killed a large animal before driving the pack away and claiming the meat. The Dhole has also been poisoned indirectly, such as in Russia, where poison campaigns targeted at wolves resulted in the deaths of several dholes.

References

ARKive, Dhole – Cuon alpinus: More Information – ARKive, http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Cuon_alpinus/more_info.html, Oct 2004.

Canid Specialist Group, 1996: Cuon alpinus. In: IUCN, 2003: 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, http://www.redlist.org. See also:

http://www.canids.org/SPPACCTS/dhole.htm, Oct 2004.

Chacon, Rachel, 2000: Cuon alpinus, Animal Diversity Web, http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/

Cuon_alpinus.html, Oct 2004.

Durbin, L, Dhole Home Page: information on the Asiatic wild dog, its biology, research and conservation, http://www.cuon.net/dholes/, Oct

2004.

Postanowicz, Rebecca, Lioncrusher’s Domain — Dhole (Cuon alpinus) facts and pictures, http://www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=14,

Oct 2004.

By: Environment and Development Desk, DIIR, CTA.