Explanation:

About the Dhole

• Dhole is also known as the Asiatic wild dog, red dog, and whistling dog. It is about the size of a German shepherd, but looks more like a longlegged fox. Furthermore, it is a highly social animal, living in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies and containing multiple breeding females. They are native to Central, South, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Ecological role: Dholes play an important role as apex predators in forest ecosystems.

Habitat: Dholes occupy a wide variety of climates and habitats, including dense forests, scrub, steppes, and alpine regions. They vary in colour from charcoal grey to rust-red to sandy beige, depending on their habitat. They are found in Western and Eastern Ghats, Central Indian landscape and North East India.

Conservation Status

• Schedule II species under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Endangered by the International Union for Conservation (IUCN).
• Under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list.

Threats - Depletion of prey base, Habitat loss and transformation, Retaliatory killings due to livestock predation etc.