Ussuri dhole
| Ussuri dhole | |
|---|---|
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| A captive Ussuri dhole at Kolmårdens djurpark, Sweden. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Cuon |
| Species: | C. alpinus |
| Subspecies: | C. a. alpinus |
| Trinomial name | |
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Cuon alpinus alpinus (Pallas, 1811) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Cuon alpinus dukhunensis |
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Cuon alpinus dukhunensis
(Sykes, 1831)
Cuon alpinus lepturus
(Heude, 1892)
The Ussuri dhole (Cuon alpinus alpinus), also known as the Indian wild dog, Eastern Asiatic dhole or Chinese dhole is a subspecies of dhole native to East Asia. It is widespread in the Indian subcontinent and the Indochinese Peninsula. The Ussuri dhole is also native to China, however it is probably extinct in most of its ranges in China, as well as in Mongolia and the Russian Far East.
The Ussuri dhole is the largest subspecies. It has a bright red coat and a narrow skull. Like the Tien 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 has darker coarse and leaner fur which is mostly found in the Sumatran dhole, with the red underfur nearly visible.
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, Burma and Thailand. It is thought to be extinct in Mongolia, Siberia and Korea, though it is disputed that dholes persists in those countries.
The Indian wild dogs feed on small and larger herbivorous mammals such as chital, sambar, blackbucks, deer, wild boar, Asiatic water buffalo, nilgai and gaur. On few occasions, Ussuri dholes also hunt elephant calves and may also feed on onagers and kiangs.
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Wikipedia