Animals On Earth: India, Asia, China, Hawaii, And Madagascar

Dhole

The dhole is a canid native to South, East and Southeast Asia.

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. They vary in color from charcoal gray to rust red to sandy beige, depending on their habitat.

Adult dholes are nearly impossible to tame, though pups are docile and can even be allowed to play with domestic dog pups until they reach early adulthood.

Dholes are called hypercarnivores, meaning that over 70% of their diet comes from meat. They prefer to hunt medium to large ungulates (hooved animals), especially deer like sambar, chital and muntjac. Dholes will also eat birds, rodents and, occasionally, livestock.

The only predators of the dhole in the wild are the large cats like tigers and leopards. However, their primary enemy is human.