The World of Asiatic Dhole

June 5th 2009, I was at Bandipur National Park, India's best known sanctuaries, and is an important Project Tiger reserve. It is located in the Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka in south India, and is contiguous with the Mudumalai National Park in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, the Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, and the Nagarhole National Park to the northwest. It is home to around seventy tigers and over three thousand Asian elephants (as per the 1997 census [1]), along with leopards, dholes, gaur and sloth bears. Bandipur is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000+ km²), including all of Bandipur National Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.

I was their for a weekend and had already spent 2 days, It was last day at Bandipur which means my last safari trip to see some animals at Bandipur, due to monsoon showers the wild animal sightings were drastically reduced at Bandipur and the only hope for anyone was to see as much as herbivore as possible. well i was about to finish my 2hours 30 mins safari drive,without seeing a any key species like the Indian Guar or the elephas maxims ( The Indian Elephants). suddenly my drive said wilddogs i could see a pack of 4 coming out from a bush walking towards us, then there were more dogs which followed, soddenly there was this huge pack of 14 wild dogs coming towards us. Its was really a rare and special moment. Thanks to the dhole they made me and my trip both special.

Some the details and facts of Asiatic Dhole


Dhole, red dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog
Cuon alpinus
Although dholes are not fast runners, they have good stamina, and will pursue prey for hours until they finally succumb to exhaustion.



Life span
Dholes can live for 15 to 16 years in captivity.



Statistics
Head and body length: 88-113cm, Tail Length: 40-50cm, Shoulder Height: 42-55cm, Weight: 10-17kg.



Physical description
The upper body-parts of dholes are rusty red, the under-parts are pale, and the tail is tipped with black. In the Northern range, the winter coat is long, soft, dense and bright red, and the summer coat is shorter.



Distribution
Dholes live in Central Asia, India, Malay Peninsula and the Islands of Sumatra.



Habitat
Dholes inhabit dense forest and thick scrub jungle.



Diet
They feed on deer, wild pigs, mountain sheep, guar and antelope.



Behaviour
There are typically 5-12 dholes in a pack, but up to 40 have been reported. A pack consists of a mated pair and their offspring. When hunting, the pack surrounds the prey, blocking its escape.



Reproduction
Dholes have a gestation period of 60-62 days, after which the female gives birth to 4-6 pups.



Conservation status
Dholes are classified as Vulnerable by the 2000 IUCN Red List after many years of persecution by man, elimination of their prey and forest destruction.