Shocker: Dholes more endangered than Tigers!

P

Potto

Well-Known Member
I know that I haven't been on here in a while, but I was looking up information on the internet in general about Dholes and I found out that there a around 2,500 of them left in the wild :( . Experts say that there are around 3,200 Tigers left in the wild. Furthermore, there are around 15,000 Tigers in captivity. Dholes are pretty rare in captivity. This means that there are significantly more Tigers left on earth than there are Dholes; making Dholes much more endangered than even Tigers! I just cannot get over this surprising and shocking fact!! I mean the way that people stress so much about how endangered Tigers are, I never realized that Dholes are so much more endangered! (Then again, the average person hasn't even heard of a Dhole, let alone know what one is ;)).
 
Last edited:
No surprise to me, sadly :( They need publicity of some sort big time. Maybe a movie? :D Sadly I believe a lot of people think they (along with other canids) are always harmful towards people. I hope that image is changed soon.
 
Meaghan Edwards said:
Maybe a movie?
Click to expand...

Yes, great idea, a documentary. It could feature the daily struggle of dholes to survive and can show how endangered and precious they are. Maybe some special cameras planted around a certain pack territory and some great narration from a naturalist (aka David Attenborough :D)
 
This thread requires some rephrasing. You would be correct if you throw in all dholes and all tigers as one single conservation unit. However, there are - as yet - currently some 6 tiger subspecies. The most critical ones are South China (possibly EXTINCT IN THE WILD and with ca. 60-80 in captivity) and Sumatrans (which hover under the 350-500 mark).
With dholes I am not so sure in terms of where Chinese, Indian Subcontinent, IndoChina, and Indomalayan and Sumateran dhole populations stand. I do however acknowledge that there is a DEFINITE need in dhole conservation for sufficient knowledge on their numbers in individual populations and across all the populations.
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
This thread requires some rephrasing. You would be correct if you throw in all dholes and all tigers as one single conservation unit. However, there are - as yet - currently some 6 tiger subspecies. The most critical ones are South China (possibly EXTINCT IN THE WILD and with ca. 60-80 in captivity) and Sumatrans (which hover under the 350-500 mark).
With dholes I am not so sure in terms of where Chinese, Indian Subcontinent, IndoChina, and Indomalayan and Sumateran dhole populations stand. I do however acknowledge that there is a DEFINITE need in dhole conservation for sufficient knowledge on their numbers in individual populations and across all the populations.
Click to expand...

Don't forget the Javan Dhole! ;)
 
Last edited:
The estimation of dhole numbers at 2500 individuals, although given by the IUCN, is a guessestimate at best. There is very little dhole-specific research anywhere within their range.

In my opinion, I would argue that dholes are: 1. more numerous than wild tigers (emphasis on wild tigers), and 2. less threatened than tigers - unlike tigers, dholes are not targeted nor valued by wildlife trade. In addition, tigers require more prey/larger prey to successfully reproduce.


In more detail:
Pakistan: tigers long extinct, dholes present in very low numbers.
India - Western Ghats: dholes present in numbers comparable to, or exceeding, tigers; in some reserves, like Parambikulam and Indira Gandhi Sanctuary considerably so
India - central: dholes present in Pench, Kanha, Tadoba, Nagzira, and patchily in forest remnants in numbers comparable to, or exceeding, tiger numbers.
Nepal and northern India: in the terai lowlands, dholes rare or absent, tigers present. In the Himalayas, tigers absent, dholes present patchily.
Northeast India: depleted prey base, tigers occuring at very low densities, dholes more frequent than tigers. Kaziranga and a few other well protected lowland areas where tigers reach high densities, show the opposite trend, with dholes absent.
Bhutan: dholes considerably more numerous than tigers.
Bangladesh: dholes absent, tigers present in the Sundarbans only.

Myanmar (Burma): extensive camera-trapping efforts, conducted at 17 sites throughout the country (Lynam et al., 2003), confirmed tigers at only 4 (23%), while dholes occured at 13 sites (76%). Out of 4099 camera-trap photographs, there were 34 records of dholes, and only 5 of tigers.
Thailand: dholes occur in good numbers in places where tigers have been extirpated, like Khao Yai, Khao Ang Rue Nai and Phu Khieo. In the few places where tigers are still present, the dholes also occur.
Cambodia: recent camera-trapping has confirmed dholes in large landscapes in the south, east, northeast and northwest, sometimes in good numbers (Botum Sakor, Virachey). No breeding tiger population has been confirmed anywhere in the country recently, and the last photos of tigers have been taken in 2007 and 2005.
Laos: tigers and dholes rare. Dholes surviving in more locations than tigers, but at low densities. Prey base heavily depleted.
Vietnam: no evidence of breeding tiger populations, dholes rare, populations highly fragmented, prey base heavily depleted.
Malaysia and Sumatra: dholes rarer than tigers
Java: tigers extinct, dholes present in several protected areas

China: very few tigers, but dholes surviving in parts of Yunnan, Sichuan, Gansu and the north
Russia (far east): 300-400 tigers, dholes rare
North Korea: no one really knows; tigers probably absent, dholes probably present.


The extirpation of tigers throughout most of their former range has actually benefited dholes - a phenomenon known as Mesopredator release. A number of studies and field reports from continental South-East Asia specifically state that dholes and/or leopards seem to have replaced tigers as the top predators in those ecosystems.
 
Hi,

Several factors make Dhole very endangered on a par with African Wild Dogs.

First, they are not liked even by some naturalists who love Tigers. Not long ago they were even shot in national park to protect unglates.
Second, they live in packs where all individuals are closely related, which have enormous ranges.
Third, many reserves and places are now isolated, and Dholes will die out there in few generations at most.

Most endangered are northern subspecies from China. They may actually be extinct. Dholes occured in fromer Soviet Union apparently only as stragglers. There is even no consensus what subspecies of Dhole exist, and no purebred forms in Western zoos. Like among Tigers and Leopards, short-haired southern Dhole subspecies cannot replace northern ones.

Time for zoos to get interested in Dholes both in zoos and in the wild, and perhaps obtain purebred founders of island and northern populations. They breed well in captivity and are very interesting!
 
Jurek7 said:
Time for zoos to get interested in Dholes both in zoos and in the wild, and perhaps obtain purebred founders of island and northern populations. They breed well in captivity and are very interesting!
Click to expand...

Very true. They are a neglected species in Zoos. But so was African/Cape Hunting Dog until not so long ago. It too had a very bad reputation and was vilified even by conservationists in Africa. Now it has undergone a transformation, becoming a very popular zoo exhibit and 'rebranded' as 'Painted' Dog/Wolf and similarly featured in TV documentaries etc.

Lets hope Dholes can be given the same attention before the rarest races become extinct. Like all Wild Dogs they do make good zoo exhibits example; Howletts.
 
At least one UK zoo is looking into going into Dholes within the next few years,they just have to move a few species first!
 
Here is a video of a large pack of dholes taking a gaur calf. Filmed recently in Bandipur National Park, India by Mr. Sugandhi-Rana Belur.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pertinax said:
Like all Wild Dogs they do make good zoo exhibits example; Howletts.
Click to expand...

San Diego Safari Park has had to keep theirs off show because, according to an article in their magazine, they are extremely skittish and freak out at any minor change (as insignificant as moving their food bowl). So I am not sure they make good exhibit animals, but I agree zoos need to breed them, even if off exhibit.

When I was at Port Lympne, however, the one I saw was laying near the fence and seem not to mind my presence at all. So maybe San Diego's behavior is not typical of the species?
 
Thanks. I don't know why it wasn't visible; it works fine on my computer. Maybe it doesn't work with some browser settings.
 
Here's a couple of recent photos of dhole packs hunting sambar deer. Taken in Tadoba and Nagarahole National Parks, India, by Mr. Ajith Mathew, Vikram Potdar and Shreewardhan D:

Sambar doe & Dholes
Dholes attack
Wild Dogs & Sambar - A battle for Life, Kabini Dec-2010
sambar & dhole
Hero's death


Short video of a tigress chasing off dholes from a kill:




Several photos of wild dholes from Thailand by Mr. Bruce Kekule:

Asian wild dog and Asiatic jackal | Wildlife Photography in Thailand and Southeast Asia
Carnivorous creatures of Asia


And a couple of photos from Cambodia, from WCS and WWF projects:

www.flickr.com/photos/seima/3921807663/in/set-72157622375185456
www.flickr.com/photos/wwfint/3214528508
WWF - Endangered Mammals of Cambodia
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top