Dhole standing in front of a green shrub.

Dhole

A different kind of dog
Type
giant panda

Mammals

Area
Map of Asian countries
Asia
Endangered Status

Endangered

facts

size
3
feet, length
20 inches high at shoulder
Dhole standing next to a soccer ball.
food
meat
carnivore
carnivore
habitat
forest,
scrub, steppe, and mountains
forest habitat

description

Dhole running through yellow flowers and tall green grass.

Dogs, not foxes

Dholes—pronounced “doles”—are wild dogs native to East and Southeast Asia that are about the size of a German shepherd, but look more like a very large, long-legged, bushy-tailed fox. They are fast runners, good swimmers, impressive jumpers, and excellent hunters.

Dhole yips
Dhole mother standing in the middle of with four pups, two of them sniffing her mouth.

Pups eat first

A dhole pack is headed by a dominant male and female, and the rest of the pack members help feed and care for that pair’s offspring. When dhole pups get old enough to join the rest of the pack in a hunt, the others allow them to eat first.

A pair of young dhole pups sitting in grass.

Big family

A female dhole can give birth to a litter of as many as 12 pups. Males tend to stay with the pack for their entire life, but females may leave to start their own pack when they get older.