The Truly Resilient Wild Dogs of India: The Redoubtable Dholes -Apex Predator or Mesopredator?

A magnificent dhole. They are not true dogs. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Dholes (aka Asiatic Wild Dogs)

Dholes, also known as Asiatic wild dogs, are medium-sized wild canids native to Asia. They have a reddish-brown coat and are most commonly found in India, where their population is the highest and spread throughout much of the country. Rudyard Kipling—the renowned English journalist, poet, novelist, and short story writer—wrote about Indian dholes in his famous novel The Jungle Book (1894). It was then that dholes became well known in Europe.

So, what exactly are dholes?

Taxonomy:

• True dogs (Canis): Includes wolves, coyotes, and domestic dogs.

• Dholes (Asiatic wild dogs): Belong to the genus Cuon.

• African wild dogs (painted dogs): Belong to the genus Lycaon.

  
  

Although dholes and African wild dogs are both canids, they are not closely related to true dogs (Canis). Interestingly, dholes and African wild dogs are more closely related to each other than either is to wolves or coyotes. So, although they resemble dogs, dholes are not true dogs—just like African wild dogs (or painted dogs) aren’t either.

Genetic studies suggest that dholes are the result of reticulate evolution, having emerged from hybridization between a species closely related to the true dog genus (Canis) and a lineage closely related to the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus).

Beautiful African wild dog. Like the dhole, it is not a true dog. Photo Credit: nationalgeographic.com

Habitat and Distribution

Dholes occupy a wide range of climates and habitats, including dense forests, scrublands, steppes, and alpine regions in Asia. They are found across Central, South, East, and Southeast Asia. It is estimated that India is home to around 2,000 or more wild dholes. The global wild population is estimated to be around 2,500 to 3,000 individuals.

Distribution of dholes globally. Majority of dholes are found in India throughout the entire nation. This is because they are very well protected in numerous wildlife sanctuaries and parks across the country, compared to other regions. Photo Credit: theanimalfiles.com

 Interesting Facts About Dholes:

• Dholes live in clans typically consisting of 6 to 10 members, though group sizes can reach 30 or more.

• Their diet varies by habitat but usually includes hoofed mammals (ungulates). In India, they prey on sambar, chital, nilgai (blue bull), wild pigs, and gaur (the largest living bovine). In Southeast Asia, their diet includes deer, gaur, and banteng. In Siberia, they hunt deer, wild sheep, and reindeer.

Frequently, dholes will drive their prey like this sambar doe or chital (spotted deer) into lakes. They will then wait patiently for their prey to tire and will even venture into sluggish water to snap at it. It may take even 40-50 minutes or more for them to incapacitate it and drag it ashore. Photo Credit: tumblr.com

When cornered by dhole (or wolf or hyena), ungulates, like the sambar doe here or chital, will raise their tail and thump their foreleg, with ears pointed at them. This is their defense and aggressive posture. This will go on for some time, when one of the dholes will attack the prey’s hind quarters. Then, the whole clan takes on their prey. Photo Credit: dholes.org

Banteng, one of dhole’s preys. Photo Credit: zooinstitutes.com

• When hunting larger prey, dholes work together as a clan and can bring down animals over 10 times their own body weight. When hunting alone, they feed on berries, bugs, lizards, rabbits, and other small mammals.

A clan of dholes taking on a mighty female gaur guarding her calf. Unfortunately, she accidently tosses her calf in the air while attacking the dholes.  This is known to happen in Africa also. Many times, the mother wildebeest in Africa or gaur may trample upon their calf during the confused interaction with hyenas in Africa or dholes or wolves in India. Photo Credit: conservationindia.org

Dholes attacking a sambar deer. Photo Credit: english.onlinekhabar.com

• Dholes occupy large territories of up to 35 square miles (about 90.65 million square meters). In India, their territory often overlaps with those of larger predators like tigers and leopards, so they remain constantly alert.

• One dhole often leads the clan during hunts, and they communicate using a variety of sounds. A clan can take down large prey like a nilgai and can consume up to a quarter of their own body weight in just 10–15 minutes thanks to their razor-sharp teeth.

• Clan members care for the young, hunt together, feed cooperatively, and sometimes even play with members outside their own group. Occasionally, several clans join to form “super clans” of up to 30 individuals or more. These groups hunt together, share food, and later split back into smaller clans. Inter-clan aggression is rare.

• Dholes typically live in burrows with multiple entrances. These burrows are often located in dense vegetation or under rocky outcrops for protection.

• They are among the most vocal canid species, with 11 distinct calls used in different situations. While playing, they whine and whimper. They also cluck, scream, and mew. Their most unique sound is a whistle—used especially during group hunts. This low-frequency whistle carries well through dense forest foliage and is distinct enough to identify individual dholes.

  
  

Predator Status:

Dholes are apex predators in areas where tigers or leopards are absent. However, in India, they are considered secondary predators, or mesopredators because tigers and leopards dominate the food chain. On occasion, leopards—and even tigers—may attack and kill a dhole, despite the clan's constant vigilance.

Threats:

The biggest threat to dholes is habitat loss and deforestation. They have lost much of their traditional range, and the decline of prey species adds to the challenge. Dholes are currently listed as Endangered by the IUCN.

Conservation efforts include habitat restoration, awareness programs, and better protection of prey species, though much more is needed to ensure their survival in the wild.

Did You Know?

·      In an animal kingdom food pyramid, each level is called a trophic level. The basic pyramid shows how food energy is passed from one trophic level to the next along the food chain.

·      The lowest trophic level is occupied by producers, such as grass.

·      The next level above is occupied by consumers of these producers, such as herbivorous animals.

·      Next come secondary predators, or mesopredators, like coyotes—medium to small-sized predators that consume smaller herbivorous species.

·      At the top of the pyramid are the top, or apex, predators, such as lions, tigers, and jaguars, which prey on both herbivorous species and, on occasion, secondary predators.

·      Apex predators are not consumed or preyed upon by any other species. That is why they sit at the top of their habitat's food chain.

·      An apex predator in one type of habitat can be a mesopredator in another environment or habitat.

·      Reticulate evolution, or network evolution, describes a pattern of evolution where lineages merge or cross, resulting in relationships better represented by a phylogenetic network rather than a traditional bifurcating tree. This occurs due to processes like hybridization, horizontal gene transfer, or symbiosis.

• Traditional vs. Reticulate Evolution:

Evolution is often visualized as a tree, where lineages split and diverge. Reticulate evolution, however, challenges this view by incorporating instances where lineages merge or exchange genetic material, creating a more complex, network-like pattern.

·      The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), founded in 1948, is a global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Its mission is to influence, encourage, and assist societies in conserving nature and ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources.

In the land animal kingdom:

1. A pride is a group of lions, lionesses, and their cubs.

2. A pack is a group of animals that hunt together—always. A few members of the pack, like the old or sick, may occasionally be left behind deliberately. But as a rule, all healthy members join the hunt. An excellent example is a pack of North American wolves.

3. A clan is a group of animals in which not every member may join the hunt. A few members may hunt collectively, while others may hunt alone. Naturally, when they hunt as a group, they are able to bring down larger prey than when they hunt solo. Dholes and hyenas are examples of species that live in clans.

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