At Rest By the Track Side--Dhole in Tadoba

[Shyamala Kumar]

We saw a pack comprising of about four Dholes frolicking on the track,two of them seemed to be a mating pair.They rested a few moments by the wayside much to our delight, before they dashed off to attend to the more important business of survival.Nikon 7100+70-300mm FL150mm F/8 ISO800 1/250s Late evening Jan 2015.

[Mrudul Godbole]

Nice pose. Good eye contact. Good it decided to sit, giving you some opportunity to photograph. Was the female/male close by? Could you get both in the same frame? Thanks for sharing.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It is always nice to watch a dholes, playful as they are. Infact the play is a way of bonding for them. In situations like a long waiting game when a large herbivore like a herd of sambar driven into a pool, the dholes often take a break to play and then resume their stalking/attacking with renewed vigour.

It would have been great if the head of the dhole had some more sunlight. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice eye contact. When you have talked about the possible couple, may be both or one of them are 'Alpha': who are responsible for breeding. The one before us in your nice take, is a foot-soldier. Thanks for sharing. SaktiWild

[Shyamala Kumar]

Saktipadaji,I think the above image is that of a female and if my memory is correct she was the one cavorting with what I assumed was the the `Alpha Male` Mridul,I will be posting a few more images.

[Debasis Bose]

Good capture. Interesting that dhole has some extraordinary vocal calls - it can whistle, scream, mew, and even cluck like a chicken

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice image.

Good capture. Interesting that dhole has some extraordinary vocal calls - it can whistle, scream, mew, and even cluck like a chicken

But can't bark....

TFS
Roopak

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

My two young Bhais are trying to share their experience, its so nice but on one point they have critically divergent view. I thought, I may join discussion as I very well know both of them will enjoy the same.

Dhole is basically a silent animal. I have seen them pursuing prey or otherwise from Simlipal to Tadoba in a number of forests. I have heard only whistling sound of Dhole.

I, therefore, sent this query to my Great Teacher. Reply came as under:

" Among the vocalisations I have heard are the well-known whistling whine when the Dhole were pursuing prey in bush cover, evidently sounded by the animals nearest the quarry as a guide to the rest of the pack, a short interrogative bark and a loud, unearthly cackling which served to reassemble scattered Dhole."

- M.Krishnan

Kind regards,
SaktiWild

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Although I was just trying to bring in a little humour, honestly I didn't know about the short interrogative bark Sakti da. But i did hear something like a Yelp. Amongst the predators of the Indian jungles the dhole is the animal which i have had a chance to observe for relatively long periods in different places.... but then how little we know.

Thanks for sharing the words from our great teacher. It always pleasantly surprising to read his minute observations which will escape the casual eye.

Rgds
Roopak

[Subhash Shrivastava]

the image is having good details and clarity and a nice compo. thanks for sharing. it's a reward in it's own to be able to get so much of information through sharing on this forum. thanks, Shaktida and Roopak for engaging in a very informative discussion.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Amazing observations of Shri M. Krishnan. I have heard many different kinds of sounds which my feeble vocabulary fails to describe. Regarding the barking sound, I didn't knew if dholes make such a sound and hence I checked Dunbar Brander's book "Wild Animals in Central India". Quoting Dunbar Brander below:
"It has been asserted that wild-dogs do not bark in the true sense of the word; this is probably true; the nearest approach to a bark emitted by them is the "yap" they occasionally give when running an animal. They both whimper and whine. Galloping round a corner once, I came suddenly on two old dogs and a cub, the latter made off "screaming like a puppy." They growl and snarl and also wag their tails to show pleasure or to try to please. The commonest call is a sort of chattering, which is analogous to the "chuck chuck chuck" of the Indian Fox. In addition they possess a mate call, which, although seldom heard, can never be forgotten. Written language is a very poor medium for describing sound, and one's only means of doing so is by comparison with some other sound. The mate call is analogous to the wailing of the jackal, and is of the same nature, but with less cadence, not so prolonged, much louder, and ends more abruptly. The timber drag paths of the Melghat are ideal for purposes of spooring. On several occasions I have known this call given at dusk by a dog sighting the camp from an adjacent hillock. The call was answered, and acted in the nature of a summons to his mate, to come and view the unwonted intrusion. I am inclined to think that this call is only used when two dogs have mated and separated from the pack. "

My two young Bhais are trying to share their experience, its so nice but on one point they have critically divergent view. I thought, I may join discussion as I very well know both of them will enjoy the same.

Dhole is basically a silent animal. I have seen them pursuing prey or otherwise from Simlipal to Tadoba in a number of forests. I have heard only whistling sound of Dhole.

I, therefore, sent this query to my Great Teacher. Reply came as under:

" Among the vocalisations I have heard are the well-known whistling whine when the Dhole were pursuing prey in bush cover, evidently sounded by the animals nearest the quarry as a guide to the rest of the pack, a short interrogative bark and a loud, unearthly cackling which served to reassemble scattered Dhole."

- M.Krishnan

Kind regards,
SaktiWild