Dholes (Cuon alpinus)

[Rishi]

Gujarat: After more than 50 years, Dhole pair spotted 

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Surat: During the lockdown, several species of animals have been spotted in our cities, some of them after decades. After nearly five decades, the rare Asiatic wild dog or dhole has been sighted in the wild in Gujarat.
Dhole, known as whistling dogs, gets its name whistling dog for its peculiar contact call.
Two dholes was caught in the camera traps set up in Vansda National Park that is spread on 24 sq km hilly terrain of Sahyadri ranges. The last confirmed sighting report, was sometime in 1970 by Late Maharaja Digveerandrasinhji of Dang.

"The number of individuals and the pack size is still unknown. Presence of dhole is an indicator of good quality forest, prey abundance and less human disturbance. The first sighting was on February 20 by a local birder Mohammed Jat who reported this to the forest department,” the report quoted Dinesh Rabari, Deputy Conservator of Forest, South Dangs division.
Rabari added that he and his team had earlier suspected the presence of the Asiatic dog in the jungle. Hence, the department set up a range of camera traps to find out the numbers while monitoring their movement.
“The carcass of a deer and the way it was disembowelled strengthened our suspicion. We then visited the spot and found a dog eating the carcass. Later, we set up the camera traps to observe further activities. The first images of dhole were captured the next day in Kevdi beat of the part,” Rabari said.
"We are making all efforts to ensure there is no human disturbance in these areas so that they permanently stay here and breed.'' Reply