Dhole

The dhole (/doʊl/ dohl; Cuon alpinus) is a canid that lives in parts of South, East and Southeast Asia. It is the only animal in the genus Cuon. Dholes look different from wolves because their skull shapes are curved instead of dipped, they don't have a certain tooth, and their top teeth have only one point instead of several.

Long ago, during the Pleistocene, dholes lived across Asia and even in Europe, with one uncertain sighting in North America. But today, they are gone from Central Asia, some parts of Southeast Asia, and maybe even the Korean peninsula and Russia.

Dholes are very social animals, living in big groups called clans. These clans don't have strict leaders and often have many mothers having babies. A clan usually has about 12 dholes, but some groups have over 40. They hunt during the day and prefer to catch larger animals that walk on four legs. In tropical forests, they share their home with tigers and leopards, but they hunt different animals, though there is some overlap in what they eat.

Sadly, dholes are Endangered on the IUCN Red List. There are thought to be fewer than 2,500 adult dholes left. They are disappearing because of losing their homes, fewer animals for them to eat, competition from other animals, being harmed because they sometimes eat farm animals, and diseases they can catch from domestic dogs.

Etymology and naming

The word "dhole" has an unclear history. It was first used in English writing in 1808 by a soldier named Thomas Williamson who saw the animal in India. He said that "dhole" was a common local name for the animal.

Later, in 1827, another writer, Charles Hamilton Smith, thought the word might come from a language spoken in parts of the East. He also linked it to a Turkish word meaning "mad" or "crazy." Other ideas suggest it may have come from a language called Kannada, meaning "wolf."

Other names for the dhole include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, and red wolf.

Taxonomy and evolution

The dhole was first described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. He noted that it lived in areas of northern Russia and sometimes crossed into China.

Early scientists thought the dhole might be related to the earliest forms of domestic dogs, but later realized it was quite different from the genus Canis, which includes wolves and dogs. Studies show that during the time when many large animals lived on Earth, the dhole looked similar to the golden jackal but evolved into its own unique shape. Over time, its teeth changed, becoming sharper and more specialized.

Fossils show that dholes once lived across much of Asia and even parts of Europe. They have been found on islands like Sri Lanka, Borneo, and in places like Japan and China. There is also one old record suggesting they might have reached as far as North America, but this is not certain. Recent genetic studies show that dholes and African wild dogs share some ancient ancestry, even though they now live far apart.

Characteristics

Dholes have reddish fur that looks brightest in winter. In winter, their backs are a deep rusty-red with brownish highlights on the head, neck, and shoulders. Their throats, chests, sides, bellies, and the upper parts of their legs are less colorful, showing more of a yellowish shade. The lower parts of their legs are whitish, with dark brown bands on the front legs. Their muzzles and foreheads are greyish-reddish. Their tails are very full and fluffy, mainly reddish-ocher with a dark brown tip. In summer, their fur is shorter, coarser, and darker.

Dholes have strong skulls and well-developed muscles, giving their faces a look similar to hyenas. They have fewer teeth than many other dog-like animals, with six lower molars instead of seven and upper molars that are smaller and have only one point. This helps them eat quickly. Dholes are about 88–113 cm long, not counting their 41–50 cm tail, and stand about 42–50 cm tall at the shoulders. Females weigh between 10–17 kg, and males are a bit larger, weighing 15–21 kg. They look like a mix between a gray wolf and a red fox, with long backs and slender legs.

Distribution and habitat

Historically, the dhole lived in Singapore and throughout Central Asia including Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Today, it is not found in these places anymore. There were also records in South Korea, but dholes are no longer there either.

Today, dholes live in forested areas in alpine zones and sometimes in plains regions. They can be found in places like India, Myanmar, Indochina, Indonesia, and China. Some areas where they are still seen include Chitwan National Park in India, Bhutan, and parts of Bangladesh. In Myanmar, they have been spotted in protected areas like the hill forests of Karen State.

Dholes are also found in parts of Southeast Asia, such as the Malaysian Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Vietnam, and Thailand. However, some populations in these areas are small and scattered.

Ecology and behaviour

Dholes make special whistles, like birds, to talk to each other while moving through thick bushes. They also make loud, funny sounds when chasing animals, along with other noises like growls and whines.

Dholes are very friendly and live in big groups called clans. These groups are different from wolf packs because they split into smaller teams when needed. They don’t mark their area like wolves do and can share spaces with other clans easily.

Dholes live in special homes called dens, which can be simple holes or big, tricky caves with many paths. These dens can be shared by the whole clan and are often found under bushes or near dry riverbanks.

During mating time, dholes have more than one mother in a clan, and they share dens to raise their babies together. After about two months, the babies start learning to hunt with the adults.

When hunting, dholes work together and can run very fast. They chase animals until they get tired and then catch them, often in water. They eat the heart, liver, and lungs of their prey and share food with their young.

Dholes eat many kinds of animals, from small birds to big deer, and sometimes even eat fruits and plants. They usually avoid people but might sometimes hunt livestock when left outside for long periods.

Dholes share their homes with tigers and leopards but usually pick different animals to hunt. Sometimes, they can even chase away leopards or bears. They can also get sick from diseases shared with other animals.

Threats

Habitat loss has reduced the dhole's range in India by about 60%. When dhole groups become too small and separated, it can make it harder for them to survive.

Some groups of people sometimes take food left by dholes, and some villagers welcome them for this reason. Dholes faced hunting for many years, but laws now protect them. People hunted dholes to guard their animals or because they thought dholes were lowering the numbers of other animals. Hunting methods included poisoning, traps, shooting, and attacking at dens. Even today, some areas still hunt dholes, though not as much as before. In some places, traps are a big problem for dholes. The trade in dhole fur has not been a major threat because their fur is not very valuable.

Conservation

In India, the dhole is protected by law under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Some areas where tigers live also help protect dholes. In 2014, India opened its first dhole breeding center at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam. The dhole has been protected in Russia since 1974, but it faces dangers from poison meant for wolves. In China, it is listed as a protected species. In Cambodia, hunting dholes is not allowed, and Vietnam has laws to limit how they can be used.

In 2016, a Korean company tried to clone the dhole using dogs to help save the species.

In culture and literature

Three dhole-like animals appear on an old stone from the Bharhut stupa, showing them waiting by a tree with a woman or spirit trapped inside. This scene reminds us of how dholes sometimes chase tigers up trees. In old Tamil Sangam literature, the dhole is a character in songs, like in a story where a pregnant dhole wants to eat wild pig, so its male mate goes hunting.

Dholes have appeared in stories too, like in The Second Jungle Book where Mowgli and the wolf pack face off against a group of dholes, also called "red dogs". Some people in Amurland were very scared of dholes, but nearby groups were not. In China, there are legends about a creature called the Nine sons of the dragon that was thought to be part-dhole and part-dragon.

Tameability

A person named Brian Houghton Hodgson kept dholes in captivity and found them to be shy and not easy to tame, except for one. Adult dholes are very hard to tame, but baby dholes can be friendly and play with puppy dogs until they grow up. There is an old story about a dhole possibly being given as a gift to a king, called the "red dog of Meluhha".