Dhole
Cuon alpinus
Seen by the oracleIts power
It doesn’t howl, it whistles. That’s how the pack finds each other in a forest where you can’t see ten metres ahead.
Estimated wild population
Fewer than 2,500 adults (hard to estimate)
Trend
Declining
Range
South Asia / Southeast Asia / Siberia
Main threat
Persecution by livestock farmers, habitat loss, fewer natural prey, diseases
Meet it
It really exists. It is waiting for you at the Parc Animalier d’Auvergne.
The dhole, or Asian wild dog, is a social member of the dog family and remarkably clever. It hunts in very well-organised packs of up to 30 animals, which can take on prey much bigger than themselves, such as sambar deer or even gaurs. Unlike some other predators, it does not kill with a bite to the throat but wears its prey down little by little. It communicates with high-pitched whistles, yaps and chirps. It is Endangered, and it is one of the least studied wild dogs in the world, which makes conservation work especially hard to organise.
What the Park does
Legal protection in most countries where it lives, research projects in India and Southeast Asia