Rapid Fire
Dholes
- 30 May 2025
- 2 min read
28th May is celebrated as World Dhole Day to promote the conservation of dholes—endangered Asian wild dogs—who play a crucial role as apex predators in maintaining forest ecosystem balance.
- About Dholes: Dholes (Cuon alpinus) are wild dogs native to southern and eastern Asia, including India’s Western Ghats (e.g., Valparai plateau).
- Characteristics: Dholes have auburn fur, black tails, amber eyes, and upright rounded ears, living socially in packs of 2 to 25.
- Habitat: Adaptable to forests, shrublands, and high mountain steppes.
- In India, dholes are found in three main areas i.e., the Western and Eastern Ghats, the central Indian landscape, and Northeast India.
- Diet and Hunting: Dholes are carnivores that hunt cooperatively in groups of 3-5, and communicate with yaps, growls, and distinctive whistles, earning them the nickname "whistling dogs."
- Dholes do not have the jaw strength to deliver a fatal bite to their prey, so the pack eats the prey alive.
- Reproduction: A pack usually has one dominant monogamous breeding pair, while the non-breeding members support by bringing food and caring for the pups.
- Conservation Status:
- IUCN: Endangered.
- CITES: Appendix II.
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule II.
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