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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. They are mostly found in southern Asia.
The dhole looks like a small dog. Its body is about 3 feet long, and its tail can be between 15-18 inches. Its shoulder height is about 20 inches. 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. The dhole is set apart from other canines 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.
Dholes are great communicators and use an eerie whistle to communicate with each other. They also use a variety of other noises, including clucks and high-pitched screams, that are not found anywhere else in the canid families. Dhole packs often hunt as a group, with one "lead dog" in charge. The dhole has been known to hunt ibex, mountain sheep, various deer species, rodents, rabbits, and even turtles in some parts of their range. Dholes will also eat berries, bugs, lizards, rabbits, and wild pigs and they even hunt well on their own if needed. 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,
The dhole gives birth to its pups
they reproduce very rapidly much
faster than that of wolves they
reproduce about as fast as coyotes.
Litters contain on average 4-6 pups.
Pups stay with their parents until they are about 6 months old and that is when they begin
to assist in the hunts. The average lifespan of a dhole is 10 years in the wild, and 16 in captivity.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cuon_alpinus.html
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-dhole.html
Fox, M. W. (1984), The Whistling Hunters: Field Studies of the Indian Wild Dog (Cuon Alpinus), Steven Simpson Books, ISBN 0952439069
http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Cuon_alpinus
Durbin, L.S., Hedges, S., Duckworth, J.W., Tyson, M., Lyenga, A. & Venkataraman, A. 2008. Cuon alpinus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 27 March 2012
Fun Facts
Reproduction
Main threats to the dhole include ongoing habitat loss, depletion of prey base, interspecific competition, persecution and possibly disease transfer from domestic and feral dogs.There are an estimated 2500 dholes left in the wild and their population is declining. There are at least 110 dholes in captivity.
Like other dogs, dholes are social, living in groups called packs. The pack works together to feed and care for itself. Dholes live in packs ranging from 5 - 12. Unlike most social canids , dholes let their pups eat first at a kill. Dholes wag their tails. There is rarely any evidence of aggressiveness among pack members and there is almost never any bullying. Dholes do not attack humans, and they usually retreat at the sight of a person.