Dholes (Cuon alpinus)

[Sully]

The Wild Dhole Chase
Siddharth Rao tracks the elusive and endangered Asiatic wild dog or dhole through dense jungles around India
First glimpse

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The cramp in my leg started to bother me and I moved a little to make it better. I had been quietly squirming in this fashion for over an hour, crouched on a too-thin tree perch. As I contemplated my next move, the first pup stumbled out of the den. Then another followed and another, till there were six playful puppies and three adult wild dogs 150ft away from my hiding place in the tree. I forgot about the cramp in my leg and observed the unfolding action. The adult dogs greeted each other in typical wild-dog-style: whining, licking each other and rolling on the ground. The pups chased one another and one even chewed on its brother’s ear. I was in the Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu, helping to make a film on the Asiatic wild dog, also called the dhole. I spent weeks observing what they did in their natural environment and here is what I learnt.

Getting to know dholes

A distinct species of wildlife, dholes are part of the canidae family. They cannot be domesticated and live in packs or groups as social animals (the largest dhole pack ever recorded had over 40 members). They’re found in India, Bhutan and in some Southeast Asian countries, right up till Russia, and share their habitat with large carnivores like leopards, tigers, hyenas and wolves. And just like these carnivores, dholes consume a variety of prey, from small rodents to large animals like sambhar deer.

Team players and wily strategists

*This image is copyright of its original author

Being social animals, dholes hunt together and this makes them very efficient. They are successful in catching prey up to 80% of the time that they go on a hunt, while tigers have a success rate of only 5%. Even though they’re small in build, the dholes’ overcome this with teamwork. I once watched three wild dogs cross paths with a large adult leopard in the forest; but the dholes teamed up and forced the leopard up a tree! But on another occasion, I saw that a small group of dholes did not confront a tiger, and chose to move away. It would probably take 12 to 15 wild dogs to convince a tiger to back down.
The big dhole hunt

Dholes hunt twice a day – early every morning and just before sunset. If they manage to make a morning kill and the pack is well-fed, they will not hunt till the next day. Like all wildlife, dholes only eat as much as they need to. They hunt by working as a team, attacking their prey from different angles, and chasing them over long distances. Since they are relatively small compared to some of their prey (like the chital or sambhar deer), dholes are often unable to kill their prey when they catch it. Instead, the prey dies from shock and blood loss after being attacked.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Whistle, lick, scream

Communication is a big part of dhole behaviour. They express themselves in many ways, one of which is physical contact. A pack of travelling wild dogs will often stop to nuzzle, lick and rub against one another. While a lot of this behaviour is playful, there are other messages being communicated. For instance, the dogs lower in the social hierarchy try to get the attention of the alpha male and alpha female (the leaders of the pack) by cosying up to them physically. Interestingly, dholes do not bark, but whistle. Mothers whistle to call their young, and adults whistle when they hunt. They are also known to scream, coo and growl.

Endangered and unpopular
Sadly, the dhole has been killed indiscriminately by humans over the years (with bounties placed on each dead animal) for not being a “sporting hunter” and for eating “the maharaja’s deer”. Today, it’s an endangered species. Like most wildlife, habitat loss is the major cause for its decline. But if you ever happen to visit a forest that is home to dholes (like Bandipur, Kanha, Corbett and Nagarhole) and encounter a pack, listen carefully for their high-pitched whistles – I guarantee it’s the experience of a lifetime!

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