Dhole
From Freepedia
- See also H. P. Lovecraft's fictional monster Dhole
| Dhole Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Asian red dog.jpg | ||||||||||||||
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| Cuon alpinus (Pallas, 1811) |
The Dhole (Cuon alpinus) is a species of wild dog of the Canidae family. It is sometimes called the Indian Wild Dog where it is seen abundantly. It is also known as the Red Dog, the Whistling Hunter, and the Asiatic Dog. They are the only species in the genus Cuon, Dholes are mostly found in forest habitats in south Asia, but also range north into central Asia to the borders of Russia, east to Malaysia and south to Sumatra and India and Java. The dhole is a social canid and is generally seen living and hunting in packs of ten or more. Sometimes several families unite to attack larger animals. They prey on sambar, nilgai, chital, blackbuck, and pigs. As a large group they can attack even the Indian bison, leopard and tigers. Dholes can urinate while doing a handstand on their forepaws, and can jump at least 2.3 metres. Their communication sounds range from hisses, chatters, whistles, screams, chicken-like clucking, and mewing. They have a unique dentition in the canine world, with forty teeth, and are capable swimmers, sometimes driving their prey into water.
Dholes appear in Rudyard Kipling's children's story Red Dog and in The Second Jungle Book as a threat to Mowgli's wolf pack.
Subspecies
- Dhole (Cuon alpinus) - Eastern Russia
- Cuon alpinus adustus - Northern Myanmar & Indo-China
- Cuon alpinus dukhunensis - India, south of the Ganges river
- Cuon alpinus fumosus - Western Szechuan, China & Mongolia
- Cuon alpinus hesperius - Eastern Russia & China
- Cuon alpinus infuscus - Southern Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand & Vietnam.
- Cuon alpinus javanocus - Java
- Cuon alpinus laniger - Kashmir & Southern Tibet
- Cuon alpinus lepturus - China, south of the Yangzhe river
- Cuon alpinus primaevus - Himalayan regions of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan.
- Cuon alpinus sumatrensis - Sumatra
External Links
- Dhole Home Page
- Dhole info
- Dhole facts and pictures
- ICUN threatened species- Dhole
- mapping the dhole in south east asia
- animal diversity - dhole
