Indian dhole, Eastern asiatic dhole, Chinese dhole, Southern dhole
The Ussuri dhole (Cuon alpinus alpinus ), also known as the Indian dhole, Eastern Asiatic dhole, Chinese dhole or southern dhole, is the nominate subspecies of the dhole native to East Asia. The Ussuri dhole is also native to China, however it is probably extinct in most of its ranges in China, as well as in Mongolia and the Russian Far East.
The Ussuri dhole is the largest subspecies of the dhole native to East Asia. It has a bright red coat and a narrow skull. It has a woolly winter coat, white underfur, and a larger mane during the cold season. On the other hand, the summer coat is coarser and leaner.
Ussuri dholes are found from South to Northeast Asia. They occur in India, Nepal, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Thailand. They were believed to be extinct in Mongolia, Siberia, and Korea, though it is disputed that dholes persist in those countries. These animals inhabit forests, plains, grasslands, savannahs, steppes, and alpine tundra.
Dholes are highly social animals that live in clans rather than packs. Their clans frequently break into small packs of three to five animals, particularly during the spring season, as this is the optimal number for catching fawns. Dominant dholes are hard to identify, as they do not engage in dominance displays as wolves do, though other clan members will show submissive behavior toward them. Dholes are far less territorial than wolves, with pups from one clan often joining another without trouble once they become reproductively mature. Dholes live in complex dens that are typically located under dense scrub or on the banks of dry rivers or creeks. Some dens may have up to six entrances leading up to 30 meters (100 ft) of interconnecting tunnels. These "cities" may be developed over many generations of dholes, and are shared by the clan females when raising young together. Dholes are primarily diurnal hunters, hunting in the early hours of the morning. They rarely hunt nocturnally, except on moonlit nights. Dholes can chase their prey for many hours, however, most chases are short, lasting only 500 m (1,600 ft). To communicate with each other, dholes produce whistles, sometimes rendered as ‘coo-coo’. When attacking prey, they emit screaming ‘KaKaKaKAA’ sounds. Other sounds include whines (food soliciting), growls (warning), screams, chatterings (both of which are alarm calls), and yapping cries. In contrast to wolves, dholes do not howl or bark.
Dholes are omnivores. They feed on mammals such as chital, deer, wild boar, gaur, water buffaloes, banteng, cattle, nilgai, goats, Indian hares, Himalayan field rats, and langurs. They also eat fruit and vegetable matter more readily than other canids. In captivity, they eat various kinds of grasses, herbs, and leaves.
The breeding season of dholes varies with location. More than one female may den and rear their litters together in the same den. The gestation period lasts 60-63 days, with litter sizes averaging 4 to 6 pups. The young are suckled for at least 58 days and during this time, the pack feeds the mother at the den site. Once weaning begins, the adults of the clan will regurgitate food for the pups until they are old enough to join in hunting. They remain at the den site for 70-80 days. By the age of 6 months, pups accompany the adults on hunts and will assist in killing large prey such as sambar by the age of 8 months.
Dholes are listed as an endangered species due to low densities. In certain regions, these animals are mostly threatened by a lack of prey and habitat loss. Dholes are also vulnerable to diseases from areas where they share the same habitats with other canids like wolves and Eurasian golden jackals. Ussuri dholes may also be threatened by fellow apex predators such as tigers, leopards, wolves, Striped hyenas, and bears, and formerly by Asiatic lions and Asiatic cheetahs.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Ussuri dhole total population size. However, according to IUCN Red List, the total population size of the dhole species is 4,500-10,500 individuals, of which only 949-2,215 are mature individuals. Currently, the dhole species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.