Dhole (Cuon Alpinus), also known as the Asiatic wild dog, is a social and highly intelligent carnivore native to Central, South, and Southeast Asia. With their reddish coats, bushy black tails, and large rounded ears, dholes are striking animals. They’re known for their cooperative pack behavior and are one of the few wild canids that hunt in coordinated groups.
Cuon Alpinus
Dholes thrive in a variety of forest types from tropical dry forests to alpine meadows but they require large, contiguous tracts of land with good prey density. In Nepal, they are typically found between elevations of 1,000 to 4,000 meters.
Dholes are pack-living animals, usually forming groups of 5 to 12 individuals, although packs of up to 30 have been observed. They are diurnal, hunting primarily during the early morning and late afternoon. Unlike solitary predators, dholes rely on teamwork to take down prey, which can range from rodents to larger ungulates like deer and wild boar.
Packs are highly cooperative, with strong social bonds and communal care of pups. They breed once a year, with litters ranging from 4 to 10 pups. Dens are usually dug in forested areas or under tree roots, and all members of the pack help raise the young.
Dholes play an important role in maintaining the health of forest ecosystems by regulating prey populations, which helps prevent overgrazing and promotes vegetation growth. As one of Asia’s top predators, their presence is a sign of a balanced and functioning ecosystem. Despite this, they remain one of the least understood and most neglected carnivores in conservation. In Nepal and across their range, dholes are facing serious threats, including habitat fragmentation, loss of prey due to overhunting, retaliatory killings by livestock owners, and disease transmission from domestic dogs. These pressures have caused significant population declines, and in many areas where they once roamed freely, they are now rarely seen. Conserving dholes not only protects a unique and social predator but also strengthens broader forest and wildlife conservation efforts.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the dhole as Endangered. It is also included in Appendix II of CITES. In Nepal, dholes are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973.
• Dholes don’t bark. Instead, they communicate using a variety of whistles, growls, and high-pitched screams.
• They can leap over 2 meters high and are agile swimmers.
• Unlike wolves, dholes kill prey by disembowelment rather than biting the neck.
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