Geographic Range
From the Altai Mountains in Manchuria in Central and Eastern Asia, its range spreads southwards through the forest tracts of India, Burma, and the Malayan Archipelago. Three races of the dhole exist in India alone
(Trans-Himalayan, Himalayan, and Peninsular).
- Biogeographic Regions
- palearctic
- oriental
Habitat
Dholes like open spaces and can often be found on jungle roads, river beds, jungle clearings, and paths, where they rest during the day. Their hunting range is about 40sq km (15sq mi). The dhole can also be found in dense forest steppes, and the thick jungles of the plains as well as the hills. They are never found in the open plains and deserts.
- Terrestrial Biomes
- forest
- rainforest
- scrub forest
Physical Description
The dhole is an average size canine with head/body length 90cm (35"), tail length 40-45cm (16"-18"), and shoulder height 50cm (20"). The dhole is set apart from other canids in that it has an unusually thick muzzle and one less molar tooth on each side of its lower jaw. Other members of the family Canidae have a total of 42 teeth. The adult dhole is characterized by a rusty red coat with a pale underside; depending on the region, pelage may vary from light brownish gray to a uniform red coat. A dhole is born with a sooty brown color, acquiring an adult color at three months of age. Dholes also have dark, almost always black, bushy tails.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
Reproduction
Each pack contains a dominant monogamous pair. Subordinate pack members help care for the young of the dominant pair.
- Mating System
- monogamous
- cooperative breeder
The dhole's gestation period is 60-62 days. The mother usually gives birth to eight pups at a time. The pups reach sexual maturity at about a year. Pups are born throughout the end of fall, winter, and the first spring months ( November - March ). Female dhole can have up to 16 mammae, suggesting their ability to take care of large litters. Dens are constructed near streambeds or among rocks. After a female dhole has given birth, a few other adults take part in feeding the mother as well as the pups. The pups, as early as the tender age of three weeks, and the mother are fed regurgitated meat.
- Key Reproductive Features
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- post-independence association with parents
- extended period of juvenile learning
Lifespan/Longevity
Behavior
Dholes live in packs ranging from 5 - 12. They interact with other dholes outside of their own group, but the original pack rarely exceeds 20. They are similar to the African Wild Dog in that they engage in cooperative group hunting and group care of young. Dholes are very fond of water. After meals they race to a water site, and sometimes, if the water is near their kill, dholes will leave their food for a small drink of water. They have also been spotted sitting in shallow pools of water regardless of the temperature. Just as domestic dogs, dholes wag their tails. There is rarely any evidence of aggressiveness among pack members ( except for the cubs, who like to play fight) and there is almost never any bullying.
- Key Behaviors
- terricolous
- motile
- social
- dominance hierarchies
Communication and Perception
Food Habits
The dhole eats wild berries, insects, and lizards. Packs of dholes feast on mammals ranging from rodents to deer. Some of the dhole's favorites include wild pigs, hares, wild goats, sheep, and occasionally a monkey. Unlike many other "dogs," the dhole seldom kills by biting the throat. Larger mammals are attacked from the rear, while smaller ones are caught by any part of the bodies. The smaller mammals are killed by a swift blow to the head; the larger mammals are immediately disembowled. Dholes compete for the food, not by fighting, but by how fast they can eat. An adult dhole can eat up to 4kg (8.8lbs) of meat in one hour. Two to three dholes can kill a 50kg (110 lb) deer in less than two minutes, and they begin to feed on it before it is dead. The larger prey rarely die from the attack itself, but from blood loss and shock as their intestines, heart, liver, and eyes are feasted upon.
- Primary Diet
- omnivore
- Animal Foods
- mammals
- reptiles
- insects
- Plant Foods
- fruit
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Dholes have become an indirect food source for the residents of the jungles. Dholes do not attack human beings, and they usually retreat at the sight of a person. Human residents of the jungle follow dholes when they are hunting. When the dhole ccompletes its kill, the human hunters scare it away and steal its kill.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Although this occurs on rare occasions, dholes can attack livestock at the cost of the owner.
Conservation Status
There are 10 subspecies of the dhole ranging in color and size. Two of the subspecies are listed as endangered by the IUCN (east asian dhole and the west indian dhole). Two other subspecies are on the verge of extinction ( C.a. primaerus, and the C.a. laniger).
Additional Links
Contributors
Raquel Chacon (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- Palearctic
-
living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- cooperative breeder
-
helpers provide assistance in raising young that are not their own
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- dominance hierarchies
-
ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Durbin, L. 2000. "Dhole Home Page" (On-line). Accessed 17 May 2000 at http://www.dcpbase.demon.co.uk/dcp/ .
Fox, Michael W. The Whistling Hunters: Field Studies Of The Asiatic Wild Dog
State University of New York Albany c1984