Ussuri dhole

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Ussuri dhole
A captive Ussuri dhole at Kolmårdens djurpark, Sweden.
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	Cuon
Species:	C. alpinus
Subspecies:	C. a. alpinus
Trinomial name
Cuon alpinus alpinus (Pallas, 1811)
Synonyms
Cuon alpinus dukhunensis (Sykes, 1831) Canis dukhunensis Sykes, 1831[1] Cuon alpinus lepturus (Heude, 1892)

The Ussuri dhole^[2] (Cuon alpinus alpinus), also known as the Eastern Asiatic dhole and the Chinese dhole, is the nominate subspecies of the dhole wild dog native to Asia. The Ussuri dhole subspecies is originally native to China and sections of Manchuria, the Amur River, the Korean Peninsula and Mongolia; however, it is presumed regionally extinct or extirpated in most of its historical range in the country, and likely found in fragmented populations in the Russian Far East.^[3]

Physical descriptions

The Ussuri dhole is the largest subspecies. It has a bright red coat and a narrow skull.^[2] Like the Tian Shan dhole, the Ussuri dhole has a woolly winter coat, white underfur and larger mane during the cold season. On the other hand, the summer coat is coarser and leaner. The dholes from southern Asia have darker coarse and leaner fur which is mostly found in the Sumatran dhole, with the red underfur nearly visible.^{[citation needed]}

Habitat and distribution

The Ussuri dhole lives in forests, plains, grasslands, savannahs, steppes and alpine tundra. It is the most widespread subspecies, ranging from South to Northeast Asia. It occurs in India, Nepal, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand. It is believed to be extinct in Mongolia, Russia and Korea.^{[citation needed]}

Hunting and diet

The Ussuri wild dogs feed on a variety of animals, such as the red, musk, roe and muntjac deer, wild sheep such as mouflon and argali, antelope such as goitered gazelle, chinkara, saiga, and chiru, Eurasian wild boar, grouse, pheasant, waterfowl, red junglefowl, peafowl and even the occasional red-crowned crane. They also learn hunting techniques as puppies, preying on small rodents, frogs, snakes or lizards. Injured or weak animals of numerous species will be prioritized as prey. On rare occasions, a group may attack unattended, vulnerable or juvenile equines such as kiang, onager or Mongolian wild horse, although these wild horses are generally highly protective of each other—especially of young horses—and aggressive towards predators.^{[citation needed]}

Threats and enemies

Dholes are listed as an endangered species due to low densities. However, threats such as poaching, illegal hunting and the fur trade no longer pose significant threats to dholes.^[4] The species is highly protected in many countries, such as in Cambodia. The dholes in certain regions are mostly threatened by lack of prey and habitat loss.^{[citation needed]}

Within areas where their ranges overlap with other canids, dholes are also vulnerable to shared diseases and potentially aggressive (or deadly) confrontations with feral dogs, wolves and golden jackals. Ussuri dholes may also be targeted or threatened by fellow apex predators such as tigers, leopards, striped hyena, sloth bears, sun bears and, less frequently, by Asiatic lions (in India’s Gir Forest, Gujarat) and cheetahs (in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh).^[5][6][7] Large herbivores, including Asian elephants, Indian rhinoceros, gaur and banteng are also a potential danger, due to their massive sizes, quick tempers and natural disdain for any predatory animal, despite the fact that their young may be preyed upon by dholes occasionally.

References