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Order : CARNIVORA
Family : Canidae
Species : Cuon alpinus
Head-body length : up to 105 cm
Tail length : up to 45 cm
Weight : males to 21 kg, females to 17 kg
Dhole, or Asian Wild Dog,
are the largest and most widespread species of wild canid in Southeast Asia.
They occur in a variety of lowland and montane habitats including primary
forest, secondary forest, forest-edge and scrub-grassland mosaic. They
reportedly occur up to 5300 metres elevation.
They occur in packs of up to 20 individuals or so, although typical pack
size is around 6-8. They are shy of humans, and are normally only glimpsed
as they traverse forest tracks or roads. Vocalisation is confined to simple
yaps and whistles of low volume and limited duration.
They are mainly crepuscular in habits (i.e. active early morning and late
afternoon). Their young are reared in the safety of natural holes (for
example beneath tree roots), abandoned burrows of other mammals, or in small
caves.
They prey on a wide variety of other mammals including large ungulates such
as Sambar, muntjac
and even young Gaur.
In Taman Negara, Peninsular Malaysia, analysis of Dhole faeces confirmed the
following prey species : Dusky Langur, Sunda Pig-tailed
Macaque, various squirrels, Eurasian Wild Pig
and mousedeer (for example, Greater
Mousedeer): reptiles and birds appeared to be absent from their diet
(Kawanishi & Sunquist, 2008).
Their fur is a rich, orange-brown colour throughout much of the body, but
the belly and inner part of the limbs may be whitish. The long, bushy tail
is mainly black. Their legs are long and slender. The snout is relatively
pointed, and their ears are large and rounded often with white fur inside.
In many parts of the region large, feral domestic dogs may have similar fur
colour to Dhole, however they lack the black, bushy tail.
Within Southeast Asia dholes occur in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Java. Outside the region their
range extends to parts of India, Nepal, southern China and Siberia.
For a comprehensive discussion of the current range of the species, the
reader is referred to Kamler et al (2015). Contrary to the latter review, however, there are no reliable,
historical records from Singapore.
Figs 1 to 3 : Trail camera images from sun-dappled, lowland forest in
Peninsular Malaysia.
All images courtesy
MYCAT ©.
References :
Francis, C.M. 2019. A Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia. Second
Edition. New Holland. 416 pp.
Kamler, J.F., Songsasen, N., Jenks, K., Srivathsa, A., Sheng, L. &
Kunkel, K. 2015. Cuon alpinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015:
e.T5953A72477893.
Kawanishi, K., & Sunquist, M, E. (2008). Food habits and activity patterns
of the Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temminckii) and dhole (Cuon
alpinus) in a primary rainforest of Peninsular Malaysia. Mammal Study,
33(4), 173-177.
Lekagul, B.,
McNeely, J., 1977. Mammals of Thailand. Association for the Conservation of
Wildlife, Thailand. 758 pp.
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