Asiatic Wild Dog

Asiatic Wild Dog Latest News

According to a new study by scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the dhole, or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus), believed to have been locally exterminated, has made a confirmed return to Assam’s Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape (KKAL).

About Asiatic Wild Dog

• It is a wild canid carnivorous species.
• Other Names: Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red wolf, red dog and mountain wolf.
• Habitat:  Dholes are animals that inhabit dense jungles, steppes, mountains, scrub forests, and pine forests. 

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Distribution of Asiatic Wild Dog

• They are found throughout Central, Eastern Asia and Southeastern Asia. 
• In India, they are found in three clusters across India, namely the Western and Eastern Ghats, the central Indian landscape and North East India. The Western and Eastern Ghats is a stronghold region for dholes.
• Threats: Habitat degradation, prey depletion, and retaliatory killings.

Conservation status of Asiatic Wild Dog

• IUCN Red List: Endangered
• CITES: Appendix II
• Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Schedule II

Key facts about Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape

• It is a critical part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot.
• This area has been known as the North Bank Landscape which covers the south of the Brahmaputra river in Assam.
• It is home toabout half of Assam’s elephant population, more than 70 per cent of Assam’s tigers and close to 90 per cent of the rhino population of India.

Source: TH