#dholes

Wild Animals of Yesterday & To-Day. Written by Frank Finn. Illustrated by Cuthbert Edmund Swan. 1913.

Of the canidae family, the dhole (pronounced dole), also known as the Indian wild dog, is an endangered wild dog found throughout much of Asia, although they used to occupy half the globe. Their diet consists mostly of hoofed mammals (chital and sambar deer in particular) that they hunt as a pack, but they also commonly eat berries, lizards, bugs, and smaller prey. Their pack consists of 5-12 members, but they sometimes play and hunt with other dhole packs. These packs join together for a while, hunting together, sharing food, and playing, and then split off into the smaller groups again. Around January and February, dholes have large litters of pups born in burrows with multiple entrances. These dens can grow very large and are oftentimes used by many generations of dholes. They can even have six entrances which can lead to around 100 feet of interconnected tunnels. Usually their litters consist of 5-10 pups but occasionally there are as many as 12-16.

Photo by Bobby Jo Clow

Dholes are known for their agility. They are powerful hunters with their running, swimming, jumping, and even climbing abilities. They can jump a shocking 7 feet vertically into the air and run for long periods of time. Along with impressive athletic abilities they have expansive means of communicating, like a complex body language. Chirping, whistling, and mewing along with whines, squeaks, screams, and chattering are some of the many ways they communicate with each other. From videos I’ve watched of them they sound rather a lot like birds or monkeys. For communicating over long distances they make a loud whistling sound, which is why they are also called whistling dogs. Their whistles are short medium-high pitch sounds. These whistles carry through dense brush easily, helping them stay together and hunt in a more coordinated manner when they can’t see each other. When the animals they hunt are scarce they will target livestock, causing people to target them. This along with habitat loss has endangered the dhole and there are now fewer than 2,500 adults left in the wild.

Overall, I rate the dhole 10/10. Very cool dog. Needs more attention from the world

Photo by Bobby Jo Clow

Dholes are known for their agility. They are powerful hunters with their running, swimming, jumping, and even climbing abilities. They can jump a shocking 7 feet vertically into the air and run for long periods of time. Along with impressive athletic abilities they have expansive means of communicating, like a complex body language. Chirping, whistling, and mewing along with whines, squeaks, screams, and chattering are some of the many ways they communicate with each other. From videos I’ve watched of them they sound rather a lot like birds or monkeys. For communicating over long distances they make a loud whistling sound, which is why they are also called whistling dogs. Their whistles are short medium-high pitch sounds. These whistles carry through dense brush easily, helping them stay together and hunt in a more coordinated manner when they can’t see each other. When the animals they hunt are scarce they will target livestock, causing people to target them. This along with habitat loss has endangered the dhole and there are now fewer than 2,500 adults left in the wild.

Overall, I rate the dhole 10/10. Very cool dog. Needs more attention from the world

The first of the four images is by Joel Sartore (follow his photo arc journey on Instagram @ joelsartore)