The Indian Wild Dog more commonly known as the Dhole is one of the most successful hunters in the Indian Wilderness. The high hunt-to-kill ratio is attributed to the fact that Dholes are sociable animals who live and hunt in packs of 2 to 20 or more. It is unfortunate that these fabulous hunters are today among the "critically endangered species".
We were exiting the Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary after an evening Jeep Safari when we spotted a pack of Dholes cross the road. What amazed us about them was that they were by far the largest pack of Dholes (28 individuals) that we had ever encountered in the Indian forests.
We knew from our prior experience that Dholes literally hunt every day and a pack this size was sure to be successful on a daily basis. During the next day morning Jeep safari, we went to the same area where we had seen the pack the previous evening. And to our luck we sighted them almost immediately! And this sighting turned out to be even more interesting as the pack was already on a hunt.
First they made an unsuccessful attempt at hunting down a Sambar Fawn, which narrowly escaped.
We were quite surprised with the perseverance of this pack since we saw them hunt down every prey they came across and even a Peacock was not spared. However, it looked like the hunt for the day was eluding them. The Dholes weren't giving up and neither did we. Something told us that very soon they would be successful in their hunt. We were not wrong. It was quite amazing as we saw them casually resting by the side of the forest track road and then within a minute they were up and running inside to kill their prey. 
Unfortunately, we could not see them making the kill because of the the thick Lantana that hid our view, but we did hear the last yelp given by their prey followed by the whistling noises these lethal predators normally make while devouring their kill. It was just a matter of minutes before a few of them came out from the Lantana, their bellies full with the meal that they had eaten. The blood-stained fur on this Dhole is proof enough that the kill was quickly consumed. 
Images of Dholes feasting on a kill can be seen in our earlier post on breakfast in the wilderness and we posted extreme closeups here.
33 comments:
sad tht the Dhole is critically endangered.. lovely photos as usual, i liked the second last one the best
The remind me of the also-endangered Ethiopian wolf
Lovely sighting
I love hearing about the wild dogs. Thanks for all the photos.
In a way they look just like pet dogs at home.
che meraviglia! che foto piene di fascino.
ciao simona
Shame you guys missed the successful hunt. would have made for some great images.
Must've been quite the hunt. They look very contented after eating.
Too good, look at the way they are relaxing in the penultimate picture.
I had no idea these animals were endangered! so Sad! and i still havent seen a single one of these!
These sure are beautiful dogs. I'd sure hate to be their prey though.
fascinating post and photos; we have African wild dogs here - aka Painted Dogs - who are quite similar in habits and also endangered; that is a huge pack and must take quite a lot of feeding!
Great captures Thomas this makes me think of our African wild dog also highly endangered it's strange that two different dogs on two different continents use the same tactics to hunt their prey amazing :))
Nature in the wild...doing its thing!
Great wildlife shots!
I think these wild dogs the most successful hunters, I saw them in some tv shows before...
I never think to approach them to take a shot, may be one day I have a super zoom lens...
Beautiful shots of wild dogs. I had seen one recently in Mysore Zoo.
Great, as usual.
beautiful hotos, you are very talented!
it was nice reading along and viewing the photos you got of these social creatures.. sad to hear about their slowly declining numbers..
nice series Thomas!
Very interesting and the images show very intense looking animals and the close ups, show even more intensity with their strength and their expressions~
I can only envy you that this is your world of photography. Like looking at a NG magazine.
Stunning work, as usual :)
those dogs look so sweet, but just a look at their teeth remind us they are wild ...
Stunning shots Thomas,and thank you for your comments on our Blog.
John.
A pack of 28 dholes...THAT is SIMPLY WOW!
Brilliant pictures as always....
Its been quite a while since I saw Dholes. The last I saw them was at Pench NP in Dec 2008.
Hello Thomas ,
Impressionnant des supers carnassiers , pourtant si beaux ,mais terribles chasseurs .
Beau reportage .
Amitiés .
I'm so lucky to see this beautiful world of jungles through your lenses. :) Thanks Thomas
fantastic colors and an excellent sharpness. just perfect!
Thomas you did it again. Excellent capture. I would be scared to be around them, something about the wolfs, wild dogs, domestic dogs - I fear them. Anna :)
fantastic portraits of these beautiful dholes
A fascinating series of remarkable pictures of this amazing pack. Excellent pictures and information.
Incredible shots and series.
Just recently having returned from Tanzania I would have enjoyed seeing wild dogs. Fantastic series of images.
Great shots, BRAVO~ :)
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