Dhole
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| Dhole Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||||
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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 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 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 appear in Rudyard Kipling's children's story Red Dog and in The Second Jungle Book as a threat to Mowgli's wolf pack.
External Link
- Dhole Home Page (http://www.cuon.net/dholes/)