Dhole or Indian Wild Dog.

The Dhole

The Dhole had long been a species on my bucket list, and I am lucky to have got the time to spend an extended period in the presence of quite a few in India.

On a previous trip to India to photograph Tigers for the first time, the folks who booked my trips told me of a small park that I should visit if I wanted a good chance to see Dhole and Sloth bear. The following year, they booked me into the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve for four days, and I was privileged enough to see everything I’d wanted to photograph even the elusive Asiatic Leopard.

Click here to view my Tadoba trip report.

Wild Dog

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a cat or dog person, you cannot help but smile at these little dogs. With their wonderful red coats and bushy black tails, they seem closer to foxes and jackals than wolves. Actually linked with the African Wild dog, they share many of the similar traits with their African cousins. I particularly love the white tufts of hair that protrude from their ears like some grandfather of the jungle.

They’re known to live in packs as large as 40, but tend to break off into clans of 3-5 animals, and while they’re fearful of humans, they are known to be brave enough to attack wild boars, water buffaloes and even tigers. They primarily hunt medium size ungulates like Sambar, Spotted and Muntjac deer by chasing them for long distances before killing them by disembowelling. Like the African Wild dog, they let their pups eat first on any kill and don’t have as strict a dominance hierarchy as Wolves do.