Common Name:
Dhole
Scientific Name:
Cuos alpinas
Wild Status:
Endangered
Habitat:
Alpine Steppes, Mountains
Country:
Easter and Southern Asia; Tibet, North korea, India, Mayanmar, Indochina, Indonesia, China, Siberia, Eastern Russia
Shelter:
Underground dens that vary in complexity
Life Span:
10 years in the wild; 15-16 years in captivity
Size:
Length:3'; Height 20"; Weight: 22-29 lbs (females), 33-44 lbs (males)
Cool Facts:
- Dholes live in packs of 5-12 individuals. Occasionally they play and hunt with other packs, forming temporary super packs. They are not known to be aggressive towards other packs.
- A pack of dholes with have a main monogamous pair. The pack members will help with the care of the nursing mother and pup and will go as far as regurgitating food from the hunt to help feed them.
- Dhole make a variety of high-pitched sounds. They will cluck, scream, whistle and make many other sounds.
- Dholes inhabit abandoned dens. Their dens will have multiple entrances.
- They are skilled hunters, more than capable of hunting on their own, but they typically hunt in packs,. When they hunt in their packs, they can catch prey up to 10 times their size.
Details:
Dhole is also known as they Asian Wild dog. They are considered canids, but differ from their fox, wolf, jackal, and coyote relatives. They resemble a cross between a gray wolf and red fox. Their coat is rusty-reddish brown, with dark brown, longer, fur in the tip of their tails. They also have dark brown fur on their forehead, down to their rostrum. They have long, slender legs with some white, less brightened fur towards the lower end of their limbs. Their throat, chest, and undersides are lightly colored.
Taxonomic Breakdown:
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Subfamily: Caninae Genus: Cuon Species: Cuon alpinas
Conservation & Helping:
Dholes are listed in the IUCN Red List as Endangered. There is less than 2,500 breeding dholes left in the wild. This is less than the number of breeding tigers left in the wild. They have been historically trapped and poisoned. Natives and farm-owners have killed them to protect their live-stock. They will also destroy their dens because they are considered dangerous to their livelihood. They have never been a popular to hunt for their meat of their fur, especially because of how present they once were. Their main threat is the fragmentation of their natural habitat. The ongoing development of housing and urban areas provides less inhabitable areas for them and their prey. Zoos have an ongoing effort to breed dholes but they are difficult to work with. They are shy, skittish, and sensitive temperaments. They are not widely known and as "exotic" as tigers, koalas , and other well known endangered animals so they do not get enough attention by the public and conservationists.For Teachers and Educators
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