---
title: "What the sources say about the Dhole | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "45 claims from the Dhole profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/dhole-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/dhole/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Dhole (*Cuon alpinus*)

> 45 claims from the Dhole profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Dhole](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/dhole/)

## Kamler et al. (2015). Cuon alpinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T5953A72477893.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-4.rlts.t5953a72477893.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Endangered | Endangered (EN) |
| The dhole is Endangered on the IUCN Red List. | Endangered (EN) (note: Category read through GBIF's IUCN Red List checklist, taxon 5953.) |

## Dhole. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/dhole

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A whistling, clucking wild dog that hunts in packs and can catch prey more than ten times its own weight. | it can whistle, scream, mew, and even cluck like a chicken ... When hunting as a pack, dholes can catch prey over 10 times their own body weight |
| Dense forests, scrub, steppes and alpine regions of eastern and southern Asia, from Siberia to the Malay Peninsula | Found in eastern and southern Asia, from Siberia in the north to the Malay Peninsula in the south, dholes occupy a wide variety of climates and habitats, including dense forests, scrub, steppes, and alpine regions. |
| Hoofed mammals (in India deer, wild pigs, buffalo and wild goats), plus berries, bugs, lizards and rabbits | Dholes prey on hoofed mammals—in India, they eat deer, wild pigs, buffalo, and wild goats. ... Dholes also eat berries, bugs, lizards, and rabbits |
| Hunting as a pack, it can catch prey over 10 times its own body weight | When hunting as a pack, dholes can catch prey over 10 times their own body weight |
| Its jaw is relatively short, and its lower jaw holds two molars on each side instead of three. | Dholes have only two molars on each side of their lower jaw, instead of three, and have a relatively shorter jaw than their doggie counterparts. |
| Females also have more teats than other canids and can have up to 12 pups in a litter. | female dholes have more teats than other canid species and can produce up to 12 pups per litter. |
| Other pack members bring food to the nursing mother and her pups by bringing it back up from their stomachs after a hunt. | Other pack members bring food to the nursing mother and pups by regurgitating it from their stomach after a hunt. |
| The dhole (say "dole") is a wild dog with a very odd voice. | The dhole (pronounced "dole") (note: Pronunciation only; the odd voice rests on the claims that follow.) |
| It can whistle, scream, mew and even cluck like a chicken. | it can whistle, scream, mew, and even cluck like a chicken |
| Its clucks and high-pitched screams are not found anywhere else in the canid families. | clucks and high-pitched screams that are not found anywhere else in the canid families |
| Its whistle is so distinct that it can be used to identify individual animals. | The whistling sound the dhole is known for is so distinct, it can be used to identify individual animals. |
| Dholes use these sounds when they hunt together. | The dholes use these sounds when hunting together. |
| Each pack has 5 to 12 members | Each pack has 5 to 12 members |
| packs sometimes join into super packs of up to 30 or more to hunt and share their prey | Sometimes dhole packs get together to form super packs of up to 30 or more animals. They hunt together, share their prey, and then separate again |
| As a pack, dholes can catch prey over 10 times their own body weight and can even fend off a tiger. | When hunting as a pack, dholes can catch prey over 10 times their own body weight and can even fend off a tiger. |
| They have also been seen chasing prey into water to slow it down. | They have even been seen chasing their prey into water to help slow it down. |
| They then swallow the meat in large chunks and carry it back to the rest of the pack that way. | They then swallow the meat in large chunks and actually carry it back to pack members that way! |
| The dhole is about the size of a German shepherd but looks more like a long-legged fox. | It is about the size of a German shepherd but looks more like a long-legged fox. |
| It is about 3 feet (almost 1 metre) long, with a 15 to 18 inch (40 to 45 cm) tail, and it stands 20 inches (50 cm) at the shoulder. | Length: About 3 feet (almost 1 meter) Height: 20 inches (50 centimeters) at shoulder Weight: Females, 22 to 29 pounds ( 10 to 13 kilograms): males, 33 to 44 pounds (15 to 20 kilograms) Tail length: 15 to 18 inches (40 to 45 centimeters) |
| Females weigh 10 to 13 kg and males 15 to 20 kg. | Females, 22 to 29 pounds ( 10 to 13 kilograms): males, 33 to 44 pounds (15 to 20 kilograms) |
| It has only two molars on each side of its lower jaw instead of three. | Dholes have only two molars on each side of their lower jaw, instead of three |
| In the wild a dhole lives about 10 years | About 10 years in the wild; up to 16 years in zoos |
| in zoos up to 16 | About 10 years in the wild; up to 16 years in zoos |
| A dhole can jump over 7 feet (2.1 meters) straight up into the air. | A dhole can jump over 7 feet (2.1 meters) straight up into the air. |
| Standing jump | A dhole can jump over 7 feet (2.1 meters) straight up into the air. |
| San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives the range as eastern and southern Asia, from Siberia in the north to the Malay Peninsula in the south. | Found in eastern and southern Asia, from Siberia in the north to the Malay Peninsula in the south |
| There dholes live in dense forests, scrub, steppes and alpine regions. | including dense forests, scrub, steppes, and alpine regions |
| In some protected areas it shares its habitat with tigers and leopards. | In some protected areas, they share habitat with tigers and leopards. |
| Dholes prey on hoofed mammals. In India they eat deer, wild pigs, buffalo and wild goats. | Dholes prey on hoofed mammals—in India, they eat deer, wild pigs, buffalo, and wild goats. |
| They also eat berries, bugs, lizards and rabbits. | Dholes also eat berries, bugs, lizards, and rabbits |
| An estimate from 2008 put the number of adults in the wild at under 2,500. | It was estimated in 2008 that there were less than 2,500 adult dholes in the wilderness. |
| The main threat is habitat loss: as dholes lose places to live and breed, so do their prey. | The primary threat for dholes, though, is habitat loss. As dholes lose places to live and reproduce, so do their prey. |
| Dholes can also catch diseases such as distemper and rabies from domestic dogs. | Dholes can easily catch diseases like distemper and rabies from domestic dogs |
| a dhole's whistle is distinct enough to identify individual animals | The whistling sound the dhole is known for is so distinct, it can be used to identify individual animals. |
| Dholes whistle when they hunt together | it can whistle, scream, mew, and even cluck like a chicken |
| Dholes whistle when they hunt together | The dholes use these sounds when hunting together. |
| weightKg: 15 | Weight: Females, 22 to 29 pounds ( 10 to 13 kilograms): males, 33 to 44 pounds (15 to 20 kilograms) (note: task #1261; ADW's 17 to 21 kg is also Medium) |

## Cuon alpinus (dhole). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cuon_alpinus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Animal Diversity Web says dholes do not attack human beings and usually retreat when they see a person. | Dholes do not attack human beings, and they usually retreat at the sight of a person. |
| in zoos up to 16 | Status: captivity 16.0 years (note: Second, older source for the captive figure (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, via ADW). The wild figure rests on SDZ.) |
| dangerLevel: Low | Dholes do not attack human beings, and they usually retreat at the sight of a person. (note: task #1261) |

## Srivathsa et al. (2014). On a Dhole Trail: Examining Ecological and Anthropogenic Correlates of Dhole Habitat Occupancy in the Western Ghats of India. PLoS ONE.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098803

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A study in India's Western Ghats calls the dhole the only Asian wild canid that primarily inhabits forested areas. | is the only Asian wild canid that primarily inhabits forested areas |
| In India dholes were considered vermin and bounty-hunted to the verge of extinction before they received legal protection in 1972. | In India, dholes were considered vermin and bounty-hunted to the verge of extinction before they received legal protection in 1972 |
| A 2014 study found they had been extirpated from 60% of their former range in the last century. | They have been extirpated from 60% of their former range in the last century (note: Dated to the 2014 paper: a range-loss figure is a state at the time of the study.) |