Page 34 - World of Animals - Deadly Predators

other during hunts, allowing them to
DHOLE
catch prey that is ten times larger than Cuon alpinus
Saving themselves. They can even defend Lifespan 10 years
Adult weight 12-20kg
themselves against a tiger. They tend
(26-44lbs)
to feed on deer, buffalo, goats, reindeer
Conservation status
the red and more depending on where they ENDANGERED
live but will also eat berries, insects and
rabbits. These ferocious hunters don’t kill
their prey first – they bring down their
wolf prey and start eating unlike Dholes can kill prey
most other wild cats and
dogs. Despite only being
that weighs less
able to reach speeds of
than 50 kilograms
48 kilometres (30 miles) (110 pounds) in less
What can be done to save per hour, slower than their than two minutes
this elusive animal? wild dog counterparts,
these clever hunters can
chase their prey for hours
and will drive them into
The red wolf is the world’s most endangered the water where they will
canid with roughly 30 individuals left in the strike, dragging them out
wild. There was once tens of thousands of of the water to feast.
them across eastern and the south central Jackals, on the other
US, but today they can only be found in the hand, will eat anything
Albemarle Peninsula of North Carolina. In they can find. They will
the early-1900s the US’s predator control follow large cats and
programmes and the destruction of their consume their leftovers
habitat drove the red wolf to near-extinction. but they are powerful
By the 1970s, fewer than 100 red wolves were enough to hunt themselves,
left in the wild and in 1980 the red wolf was capable of catching
declared to be extinct in the wild. antelope and sheep. They
After a red wolf recovery plan, the number will also eat birds, fruit
of red wolves reached a peak of roughly and insects. These brave
150 in 2006, but since then numbers have mammals will even attempt © Thinkstock
continued to steadily fall due to weak to challenge their predators
recovery plans and political oppositions. for their dinner.
The greatest threats they face is loss of their
habitat; they have lost 99.7 per cent of their
historical territory – the most out of the large There are now
carnivores – and hybridisation with coyotes. only 1,409
Scientists estimate that red wolves could be African wild dogs
left in the wild
extinct in less than eight years.

The red wolf was
reintroduced into
the wild in 1987

RED WOLF
Canis rufus
Lifespan 7 years
Adult weight 20-36kg
(45-80lbs)
Conservation status
© Thinkstock

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

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