Dhole-The Anatomy of a predator

[Shyamala Kumar]

Sleek, lean, powerful body,muscular legs,sharp canines,alert hearing,bushy tail to maintain equilibrium while chasing swiftly dodging prey the Dhole is indeed the apex predator of the indian jungle.Nikon 3200+70-300mm ISO-800 F/8 FL-185mm,1/400s.Nov evening 2013 Nagzira wls

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice details. Might have just crossed its prime. I like the white in the chest and throat. More than hunting, by scattering Chitals to a larger area, it helps our jungles to maintain balanced distribution of fauna.

Krishnan has observed:'....occasionally it took a high jump to look over the bushes limiting its vision.'
Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice image. personally even i feel it is the most fiercest and feared predator of the jungle.

Nice quote from the master shakti da i have personally witnessed this more than once. last was in parmbikulam a few months back...a pack crossed a glade which usually teems with chital but didnt have any that day, they then crossed the road and entered the base of a hill which had high under growth and started moving up hill with occasionally leaps for better vision.
TFS
Roopak

[Abhirup Dutta Gupta]

Great image.....

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It would have been nice if the head portion was in light. During childhood days when I first read about dhole (baliya kukura in Odiya) in a shikar book by Shri Gadadhar Ray, I had read that the dholes never stay in the same patch of forest for a long time. He had mentioned that when dholes come to the local forest, the deers appear very nervous and hence during that time closing in to a deer to get a good shot with the 12 bore gun was proving difficult.

Dunbar Brander had mentioned that dholes seems to be curious and come close to his pet dogs.

[Murugan Anantharaman]

Lovely image of the Dhole, Shyamalaji. The canines look nice and so is the pose. The muscular hind legs have also come out well. Nice quotes by All. Thanks for sharing.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Yes, Shri Sabyasachi, the dholes used to be seen in the night occasionally crossing the sandy roads inside cashew groves in east Midnapore along the coastal belt. My uncle told me that he had seen them till late 50's. Hares were abundant in those orchards. Locally Dholes were called 'Kuku(r) Bagh'. Their arrival and disappearance were all sudden. Kind regards,SaktiWild