Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing the dhole. These canines are also known as the Asiatic wild dog, the red dog, and the whistling dog for the whistling sounds they produce. They sound something like this. Of course, they produce other vocalizations like barks and grunts. Dhole are pack animals, so they communicate with each other through these sounds. The dhole is endangered. There are estimated to be about 2,500 living individuals in the wild today. They were hunted extensively as vermin, but have since gained legal protection. That still hasn’t helped their reputation in some of the places they live.

These canids can be found in fragmented populations throughout southeast Asia. They currently inhabit about 80% of their former range and most of their population losses are attributed to humans. Not only was the dhole hunted extensively, they also suffer from loss of habitat. The dhole lives in forests. They aren’t found in open grasslands or desert-like areas, and they have a fondness for water. They share these habitats with leopards and tigers, but dholes can hold their own against these large cats because they have a pack on their side!

Like african wild dogs, dholes live and hunt in packs. Pack sizes average anywhere from five to twelve members including pups. These groups can be skewed to have more male members than females because females disperse to other groups when they reach reproductive age at around three years old. Packs are led by a dominant breeding pair and pups are cared for by the entire pack. Female dholes gestate about 60 days before giving birth to up to twelve puppies. Dholes have the most nipples of all living canines because they have such huge litters. They can have up to sixteen nipples! The pups are born in a den and remain there for about 75 days. They are fed regurgitated food as early as three weeks of age. While dhole puppies play with each other they learn hunting skills. Once they reach about 7 months of age they start hunting with the pack.

These wild dogs eat ungulates like deer, wild goats, and boar, though they also take insects and rodents. They are hypercarnivores meaning meat makes up more than 70% of their diet. They are so adapted to this lifestyle, they have fewer molars than other canine species. They might look like a fox with long legs, or even a maned wolf, but they aren’t classified as foxes or wolves. They’re unique members of the canine family.

Dholes are about the size of a border collie. Females are smaller than males but on average the dhole weighs 42 pounds (19kg) and stands about a foot and a half (46cm) at the shoulder. Plus, they could jump over the average person’s head if they wanted since they can jump more than 7 feet (2.1m) in the air! They even wag their tails when they’re excited! But that doesn’t mean they would make a good pet. Dholes are described as timid in nature and run from humans. In some places, they know to avoid humans because people will follow the dogs until they make a kill and then rush in and steal the kill from them!

Because they live in large packs, they need a large range to live. They may mark their territory with their unique urinating behavior. They’ll stand on their front legs and pee while their back legs are suspended in the air! Sometimes neighboring packs come together, though, and form super packs of 30 or more members, though these are temporary. Inter pack aggression is rare between these dogs because their neighbors are often related to them! If they can survive to old age, dholes may live to be about a decade old in the wild.

For more facts on dholes, check out the links below. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today. Thank you to our Patrons SpikeSpiegel93, Dad, and everyone else for their support of this channel! Thank you to everyone for today’s request! And thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!