Worse still, they have always been subject to persecution and have been perceived negatively by the societies for generations.įerocious predators, Dholes are daytime hunters often preying much bigger animals and dragging their kills which makes it possible that local people have witnessed these deeds first hand to assume them as blood thirsty savages.
They have been reported from Chitwan National Park, Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, Parsa National Park, Api-Nampa Conservation Area, Bardiya National Park, Rara National Park, Khaptad National Park, Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve and Barandabhar Corridor Forest.ĭhole population has been facing a major existential threat in Nepal due to destruction of habitat, occasional forest fire, dwindling number of their prey, and hazardous disease transmission from feral and domestic dogs. In recent times, an extensive usage of non-invasive camera trap technology has enabled to keep the record of Dholes in different parts of the country. Studies have shown that Dholes were in Nepal from the southern plains to Tarai to the Himalayan Alpine rangelands although they were rarely sighted. Dholes live in packs in burrows with multiple outlets.ĭholes have been recorded from wide range of habitat including forests, shrub lands and grasslands from tropical rain forest to deciduous-dry forest, open plains and alpine steppe with altitude ranging from 0 to 5300 meters from sea level. Another striking character trait they are gifted with is social behavior, living in packs of 5-10 individuals, hunting down preys often much bigger in size like deer, wild boars, gaurs and many more, dragging their kills for other pack members to feed, entire pack contributing to nurture and protection of the pups and nursing females in the pack. Assumed to live for 10 years in wild, they possess a peculiar outer appearance with red or brownish, yellowish or greyish coat along with white front and belly with distinctive black tail. The only member of the genus Cuon, they are exemplary runners, swimmers and jumpers making them highly adaptive and great team player during fierce hunts. Also, they communicate via an eerie whistling sound unlike their domestic counterparts who bark. The term wild dog is often considered a misfit for Dholes ( Cuon alpinus) as they are genetically non-identical with domesticated dogs and also do not represent any subfamilies of foxes or wolves. Once dwelling abundantly in Tarai and the mid-hills, the species is now extirpated from mid-hill ranges and limited to few hundreds of them roaming our plain land. The Dhole population is estimated to be as low as 250-750 in Nepal. Also, Dholes are legally protected in all countries that are signatories to CITES, the international convention to regulate the trade of endangered species of animals and plants. That makes the Dholes one of many endangered but much less talked about animals. IUCN Red List estimates that only about 949 to 2,215 breeding population in decreasing trend are in the wild of Central, South and Southeast Asia. Perhaps you are even reading about it now for the first time.Īsiatic wild dogs, or often called as Dhole/ Ban Kukur/ Bwaanso in common Nepali dialects, have been victims of hazardous human activities. Here is a species of endangered wild dog whose population has diminished to a level that it could get extinct anytime soon-and we don’t even get to hear about it. Why? Because most of us are so transfixed with flagship species like tigers, rhinos and elephants when it comes to wildlife that we hardly bother to think about other species that are equally, if not more, endangered. Yet we seldom hear anyone talking about them. But now they have become a threatened species. Today only about 2215 breeding population of Dholes, the Asiatic wild dogs, remain.ĭholes, which signifies recklessness and daring in ancient Asiatic term, have been the greatest survivors and been lurking around the planet for 12,000 years. The adverse situation created by human activities has pushed them near extinction. But you may be reading about it for the first time.ĭogs may be humans’ best friends but their Asiatic wild counterparts have not been as lucky. Here is a species of endangered wild dogs whose population has diminished to a level that it could get extinct anytime soon.
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