Endangered Species: The Dhole

You could be forgiven for assuming that you’d seen a Dhole before at the end of your garden or rooting around in bins, as they are remarkably similar looking to the foxes that we can expect to see in our own countryside. They are the only extant member of the genus Cuon, which differs from the Canis genus by the reduced numbers of molars and a greater number of teats that make the Dhole genus a distinct and stand out species in the Canid family.

A highly sociable animal, the Dhole can be considered a sort of wild dog that has a distinctive pack lifestyle not unlike the wolf. They live in large packs, but split into much smaller groups to hunt as this is more favourable for their preferred prey, which they will hunt over long distances to tire out before the kill is made. Unlike wolves, and critical to the pack mentality, pups are allowed to eat first to promote a strengthening of the unit as a whole rather than the requirement for wolves to weed out the weakest members of a pack when food sources are scarce.

Native to South and Southeast Asia, the Dhole preys upon medium sized ungulates but are known to be bold enough to attack larger and more dangerous animals, including wild boar, water buffalo and on some occasions even tigers. Despite this tenacity and seeming fearlessness, they are also wary of interfering with humans and prefer to leave livestock alone where possible, perhaps a learned defence against reprisal from angered farmers. Unlike many Canids, they more readily eat fruit and vegetable matter for pleasure, and not only when prey species are scarce; Dhole in the Tien Shan Mountains during summer are known to eat large quantities of rhubarb, perhaps to provide much needed hydration.

Their decline isn’t thanks to a constant pressure of hunting or for any one reason – whilst in the past, Dhole furs were well paid for and seen as a fashionable material with which to make accessories and clothing. Whilst this caused a decline in population at the time that was drastic, Dhole populations have kept up a relatively unmoving level of reproduction since then and, whilst endangered, do not appear to be at current risk of becoming critically endangered.