Nature Trail

Dhole - an ice age survivor

Two of our beloved pets, the domesticated felines (cats) and the faithful canine friends (dogs) still have many interesting relatives living in the wild. We have featured most of the big and small wild cats in our past issues, but not introduced you to wild cousins of the dogs.

Today we thought of familiarising you with one of them. Even though you may have heard of dingos, the wild dogs of Australia, you many not know about the existence of the Amazonian bush dog, African hunting dog or the Asiatic wild dog.

The dhole (Cuon alpinus) is also known as the Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog or the Red dog. The only member in the genus Cuou, the dhole’s current range extends from the borders of Russia and Central and Eastern Asia to Northern and Western Pakistan and to the forest track of India, Burma and the Malaysian Archipelago. The largest population is found today in the Central (especially in the highlands), Western and Northern Pakistan and South India. Its habitats are normally dry and moist deciduous forests, thick jungles and tropical rainforests.

The historical range of this ice age survivor (like the grey wolf) extended from India to China and down to Malaysia and Indonesia with Java as the Southern limit. In the ice age, dholes were spread right across Euro Asia and North America.

Researchers have recognised three subspecies, although many more are proposed and are being studied. So, now, let’s check out some interesting facts about this wild dog who has a link to the ice age.

The dhole, a carnivorous mammal has many physical features that resemble the African wild dog and the Bush dog. Typically it measures 90 cm (35 inches) from head to body with a tail of about 40-45 cm (16-18 in). It is about 50 cm (20 in) at shoulder height and weighs 12-20 kg (26-44 lbs). The dhole has a broad, domed skull. The bones of the forehead are ‘swollen’ giving it a dish-faced appearance.

The muzzle or snout is short and broad, ears are large and rounded, the eyes are hooded and the irises are amber or light brown in colour. The fur coat is short in the southern range species.

The back and flanks are generally rusty red to brown in colour while the foreneck, chest, insides of ears and undersides are white or lightly gingered. But in the northern range species, the fur is shorter and the colour of the fur is more yellowish - brown. However dholes from Thailand have a uniformly brown coat and they lack the lighter throat and chest fur. Those in the Himalayan region have yellowish fur coats.

The dhole’s dentition (arrangement of teeth) is said to be unique among canids (dog species). Instead of the usual 42 teeth, the dholes have only 40 teeth and also one cusp (pointed end) instead of the two others have.

The front pawpads of a dhole is fused at the base and the females have 6-7 pairs of mammae (breasts) as opposed to the five pairs in canids.

The mama dhole gives birth to about eight pups after a gestation (pregnancy) period of around 60-62 days. The growth rate of the offspring is much faster than that of the wild wolves.

The little ones are nursed by the mother until they are weaned by around 6-9 weeks. When they reach three months, the little ones go out hunting with the parents. By the time they are an year old, they have matured, but they will reach full adult size only when they are about 15 months old.

This carnivorous mammal is a highly social and co-operative animal like the grey wolf, American bush dog and the African hunting dog. It lives in organised, extended family packs amounting to 5 or 12 individuals. The dhole packs rarely exceed 25 members, and they comprise more males than females. The home ranges of different packs are separate.

When living in packs comprising so many animals, one would expect a lot of fighting to take place. But, according to researchers, aggression among pack members is very rare; almost never! Perhaps, we humans could learn a lesson from these wild dogs.

The main reason there isn’t any aggression is their strict social hierarchy according to observations made by the researchers. Fighting is not necessary as a result. In the event any of the animals in the pack want to reinforce their social rank, what do you think they do? They shove and hold the position and rarely resort to even biting.

However, the dhole, an active creature engages in a lot of play with its pack members regularly; rolling over and having mock fights. Members of the pack could also be seen grooming each other.

Even though this carnivorous mammal is a diurnal (day time) hunter, it could be seen hunting at night too. When hunting alone, the dhole goes after only small prey such as fawns or Indian hares. But, when hunting in pairs or as a trio or pack, dholes could bring down even a large deer in just two minutes. The dhole avoids confrontation with the nocturnal felids (cats) like the tiger and leopard by targeting smaller prey and also by hunting in daylight.

The dhole which hunts by scent can eat up to four kilos (8.8 lbs) of meat in an hour. It drinks water frequently after eating.

One of the most interesting features of the dhole is its ability to make different vocal sounds similar to that of other animals. Apart from the growling and barking it does to alert mates to danger, the dhole can hiss, squeak, yell, chatter, mew and also cluck like chicken.

It also has a high-pitched scream. All these vocal calls also act as a threat to scare off enemies. But none of these sounds are as fascinating as the strange whistle it uses to contact pack members.

Naturalists of the past have likened this sound to the sound made when air is blown over an empty cartridge. Dholes can be identified individually by this distinct repetitive whistle, according to researchers.

Like many other animals, the dhole too is threatened by habitat loss and researchers claim that presently there are around 2,500 mature dholes remaining in the wild.

Dholes too are creatures that need to be saved like all the other animals who are slowly been wiped off the face of the Earth, not only due to natural causes, but also man’s inhuman and careless acts.