Dholes!

[Infindestiny]

Over the past couple of weeks, I found out a LOT about dholes. For some reason, they really intrigued me, so I decided to start researching. I have decided to write a book about them, but I need more information. If you want to know about dholes, here is what I have found so far:

First off, here are some pictures of dholes (all of these links have been found by Maia Huntress):
http://www.predatorconservation.com/images/dhole5.jpg

http://www.dholesden.com/dhole-eingang2.jpg

http://photos.upi.com/slideshow/full/flower ... sts_10.jpg

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/veca ... s/sole.jpg


Looks/physical traits:
-Black bushy tail (like a fox) and white paws, chest, and underbelly (sometimes a white tip as well). White can be replaced with light tan.
-about the size of a border collie (approx. 12 to 18 kg.)
-Possible fur colors: rusty red, sandy yellow, gray, dusty gray, yellow-ish red, yellow-gray, bright yellow, tawny-red, dark brown...completely brown without markings in Thailand.
-Have more cat-like paws than dog-like ones; all toes are connected at the center pad like a cat's
-Fur length: can be long or short (or medium, I am guessing).
-Triangular ears with rounded tips
-amber eyes (are described as “hooded,” giving it an intelligent look)
-Black nose
-Has quite a few more teeth than dogs do
-Has shorter jaw than most dogs
-Have two less molars on bottom jaw than dogs
-Body length: 100 cm.
-Tail length: 40 cm.
-Females way approx. 12-16 kg, and males weight approx. 14-18 kg.

Personality traits and temperament:
-Has a whistle-like call that brings together others of the pack if they become separated in a dense forest.
-Are very social and cooperative, working with others in the species
-Organized animals
-Are courageous at times, taking down larger prey

Social traits/behavior:
-Live in highly organized packs, with the average of 5-10 animals per pack. One of the largest packs spotted has been about 40 dholes.
-In times of need, dhole packs sometimes fuse together with other packs to take down larger prey or to keep safer.
-More males than females; usually only has one breeding female.
-Since there are very few females in the dhole pack, it has been concluded that most dhole females disperse on their own.
-Those in the pack usually play-fight, allo-groom, and roll
-Social rank amongst the pack is set up using pushing and holding. It is rarely biting.
-Like wolves, dominant male and female are the ones to breed.
-Mark territory using urine and feces.
-Most borders between dhole packs are spread out
-When other packs do interact, it can be friendly or hostile
-Most scientists call other dholes in the packs “pack-mates.”
-When hunting, are willing to risk their lives to get food.
-Like wolves, have dens during the breeding season.
-Although they hunt in large packs usually, they sometimes split up into single dogs or pairs to hunt smaller prey.
-Regurgitate food for young, like wolves.
-Breeding season: November-April (most pups are born in December in India); This is the dry season
-Birth once a year
-Sexual maturity: 1 year (usually male), 3 years (usually female); 2 years for both in captivity
-Gestation period for about 63 days /9 weeks (so a little over two months)
-Litters size of 1-12 pups
-Lifespan: 15+ years in captivity

Pups to Adulthood:
-Are born in the dens
-In about ten days after birth, pups double in weight (from about 200-350g to 400-700g)
-Suckle for three weeks, and start receiving regurgitated food from adults
-At 6-7 weeks, all pups have been weaned.
-Are quarrelsome at this age, but become more gentle-spirited as they get older
-Become dramatically less aggressive by 8 weeks
-ALL adults have to take turns guarding, feeding, grooming, and playing with the pups
-After about 3 months, the pups start accompanying the adults in hunts
-Pack is not fully mobile until 8 months
-Reach adult size at 15 months

Activity Pattern:
-Is dirunal(meaning they come out during the day)/crepuscular (meaning they come out at twilight) occasionally nocturnal.

Prey:
-Favorite prey is medium-sized Axis deer (mostly hunt deer)
-Larger prey include bantengs and wild boar
-Smaller prey includes hares, beetles, rodents, birds, baby animals like deer
-Sometimes munch on grass, like most carnivores do at times
-Like prey between 31 and 175 kg (medium-sized animals)
-In Russia, would be animals like wild sheep, reindeer, and wild goats.
-Rarely in India, it would be swamp deer
-More Asiatic prey includes the red muntjac, sambar, reptiles, East Asian porcupine, etc.
-Have been known to scavenge on prey remains many days after the prey was killed.
-Sometimes eat carrion or guar
-Only scavenge during food shortages and the dry seasons
-Sometimes steal prey from other animals (only in desperation)
-Regurgitate food for mates, pups, and other dholes at the den.

~The Hunt:
-Can hunt during the day or at night
-Almost never run their prey to exhaustion; usually hunts last less than a few hundred meters.
-Using whistles and squeaks, the dhole pack assigns individuals to do a specific task: lead the pack to attack, kill the animal, etc.
-Most deer hunts end with the deer being surrounded in the water by the pack of dholes
-Eat quickly
-After and during these hunts, one or more dholes stand guard as sentries to watch for enemies

Predators:
-Tigers: Rarely occurs. Usually just harassment and intimidation.
-Leopards: Rarely occurs. Usually just harassment and intimidation.
-Humans

Habitat and Locations:
-Mostly in places in or around India.
-If living in Siberia, they live on open steppes
-Usually found in hilly or mountainous regions
-China, Russia, Malaysia, Indonesia.
-Java is the most southern place they roam.
-Habitat includes dry deciduous, moist deciduous, tropical rain forests, meadows, steppes.
-Den sites are where the pups are raised. These dens can be anything from earthen burrows to rocky caverns.

Dhole's Voice:
-Can whistle, scream, mew, and cluck like a chicken (no joke). Also can make squeaks, whines, growl-barks, and chattering calls to alert others in the pack of danger.
-These calls are also used to intimidate enemies
-Also allows dispersed pack members to make out which pack is calling and regroup.

Random Facts:
-Can urinate while doing a hand-stand.
-Forms temporary packs that can be upward of 40 animals!
-Usually breeds with those pack members that help feed and guard the pups.
-A pack can subdue prey over 10 times its size
-An entire pack can fend off a tiger
-Can live in cold places (alpine) and hot, muggy places.
-Has amazing jumping powers and can jump a height of 2.3 meters straight up.
-Can swim well; usually drives its prey towards water, where it cannot swim.

I'd love to add onto this! Please help me by posting what knowledge you have about dholes, and help me fill the sparser areas of my research. Also, if I am incorrect in any of my research, please let me know and help me correct it.

[- IceRain -]

Wow great job!
I think everything i know abou Dholes is up there so i dont need to add anything ^^

-Myth

[Arrow Heart]

Thanks for typing this, now I know what a Dhole is.

[Infindestiny]

No problem! Glad I can educate through the research!

[Maia Huntress]

This is very interesting Infindestiny! I have nothing to add to this, except perhaps a few images so that people can have a few visuals so that they can really see what they look like:

http://www.predatorconservation.com/images/dhole5.jpg

http://www.dholesden.com/dhole-eingang2.jpg

http://photos.upi.com/slideshow/full/flower ... sts_10.jpg

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/veca ... s/sole.jpg

There you go! Hope that helps!

[Infindestiny]

Thanks for posting those links, Maia! I added those to the first post.

[Maia Huntress]

Thanks for posting those links, Maia! I added those to the first post.

You're welcome! Glad I could help.

[Dreamercather]

Jut for a tiddybit DHOLES ROCK!

I no sure if its true but i heard they dont get along with pandas

[Infindestiny]

Jut for a tiddybit DHOLES ROCK!

I no sure if its true but i heard they dont get along with pandas

Hmmm. . .I'm honestly not sure. I would think that were true, since a panda may be a competitor if offended. I've never even seen pandas mentioned in my research, but I may have just missed it.


(Yeah, dholes really do ROCK! )

[Zethra]

This is really intriguing Infin, It's really helpful and a very interesting read. It's great to know more about Dholes, and that you went and did some research on them.

Thanks or posting this! I'm sure it'll help a lot of people, especially those who wish to learn more about Dholes.

[Jayness]

Thanks for posting this, though I already now a ton about Dholes.

[Marilyn]

Wikipedia article for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhole#Naming_and_etymology
Picture: http://images.northrup.org/picture/xl/d ... eeping.jpg

I love Dholes.
They're closely related to jackals, and it's thought they became social to adapt to living alongside leopards and tigers. They're an endangered species from Southeast Asia, and although they're smaller than African Wild Dogs, they're known to have successfully kill adult tigers.
They're more social than wolves and don't have much of a dominance hierarchy as wolves do. Clans can be as small as three up to forty. Since they aren't as territorial as wolves, once they reach sexual maturity they can join another clan without trouble and there can be more than one breeding female. Dominance isn't shown by individuals, though subordinance is. And unlike other canids, there's no evidence of Dholes using urine to mark their territories.
Any other fans of Dholes?

[Masika]

Hello Marilyn,

Just merging this thread with another older thread about Dholes, just so it's more up to date. Besides, the older thread had quite useful information which people might like here, and it will accompany your information nicely ;P

[Marilyn]

Hello Marilyn,

Just merging this thread with another older thread about Dholes, just so it's more up to date. Besides, the older thread had quite useful information which people might like here, and it will accompany your information nicely ;P

Thanks. I was hoping I wasn't the first to post about them.

[La Striata]

I think its important to stress that the collective noun for dholes is CLAN, not PACK.

They live in clans rather than packs, as the latter term refers to a group of animals that always hunt together. In contrast, dhole clans frequently break into small packs of 3-5 animals, particularly during the spring season, as this is the optimal number for catching fawns.
Fox, M. W. (1984), The Whistling Hunters: Field Studies of the Indian Wild Dog (Cuon Alpinus), pages 81-82