Page 60 - World of Animals - Issue #30

The dog that doesn’t bark

Meet the super pack

Dholes are strategic and cunning pack hunters

Dholes are sociable animals, with an instinctive Dholes are also less territorial than wolves, and there
understanding of their place within a pack. The intricate is little friction between packs; young members can join
social structure of their groups makes them efficient other packs without much of a struggle. Despite showing DHOLE

hunters, using the power of teamwork to take down prey little pack rivalry, dholes claim huge territories of up to 88 Cuon alpinus
they could never catch alone. square kilometres (34 square miles). The social aspects Class Mammalia
Each pack has an alpha male and an alpha female, of the dholes’ lives in groups are peaceful, but it’s the
who are usually the only members to reproduce. The way that they use their numbers during hunting that has
rest of the group consists mainly of males, in varying earned them a fearsome reputation.
degrees of status, and a smaller number of females. These pack hunters frequently break into smaller groups Territory Central and eastern
Despite this, dholes are less hierarchical than wolves, during hunting. They know how to exhaust, corner, and Asia
Diet Rodents, hares, ungulates
show little aggression to each other (though dominance confuse their prey, and will often entrust a few members Lifespan 8-12 years
is expressed), and have been observed playing with with the duty of distraction, while others sneak up from Adult weight 15-20kg
enthusiasm, displaying strong bonds and family behind. During the chase, these fast and nimble canids will (33-44lb)
Conservation status
relationships. Perhaps the most notable expression of their slow down their prey by wounding them where it counts
empathy is that they let their young feed off a kill first, – eyes are gouged, genitals are ripped and hamstrings are

rather than favouring the dominant members’ needs, as is torn to bring them to a halt. The dholes’ ruthlessness does ENDANGERED
so often the case in the animal kingdom. not stop there: they often eat their prey alive.

BELOW
The forgotten dog Dholes have
disappeared from
Considered a pest due to their taste for cattle, the almost their entire
dhole was hunted to near extinction in the 20th century range over the
last 50 years
You might be surprised to learn that while there are

an estimated 3,000 tigers le in the wild, there are
thought to be less than 2,200 dholes le . Estimates of

population sizes are diffi cult though, due to their elusive

nature and the small amount of research done on their
behaviour and numbers. One thing researchers can
agree on is that the population is decreasing, mostly
due to habitat loss, culling, depletion of their natural
prey and even diseases transmitted by domestic dogs.
Dholes are currently protected and categorised as
Endangered by the IUCN Red List, but there was a
time that these beautiful and remarkable dogs were
considered a pest. For most of the 20th century, the
dhole was feared across many Asian countries, and
was hunted relentlessly. Even today, the canines are
frequently blamed for depleting the tiger’s prey base,
and hunting domestic fowl. Herders o en poison

carcasses of their livestock – an act that can wipe out
an entire pack immediately.

Despite this, there has been a limited effort to protect
or conserve the dhole, partly due to a lack of awareness
about the species among the general public. Although
they are legally protected in the countries where they
are found, the laws are poorly enforced. The dhole is
not as famous or iconic as the tiger or panda, which is
why it is o en referred to as the ‘forgotten predator’.

The few conservation programmes that are in place
o en focus on improving the relationships with local

communities through information and insurance, as
well as reimbursements for lost livestock.

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