A game that is a dreadful sight to watch, a chase that ends in killing and a pack that is ever united; these are things that characterize the Dholes (Wild Dogs). As they are among the most successful predators on the planet, humans have attributed the strategy of team hunting to them for centuries together!

Dhole (Cuon alpinus)

Almost at the brink of extinction, the Government since the time of Indira Gandhi, has protected the sacred groves that are home to these efficient canine predators. Herds of Chital, their favorite menu, throng at Nagarahole. Here, the population of Dholes has increased to form a stable distribution from a dramatic decline. They help to keep the deer population balanced, but are strangely not gregarious with other predators!

Spotted Deer(Axis axis)

It was monsoon time and we were excited to be on a boat safari. As the mist cleared, our boat moved in the direction of the ‘disappearing’ Kabini islands. On our way, we caught sight of a panic-stricken Chital (Spotted Deer) mother and her fawn. Panting for breath, they were swimming towards us from the Nagarahole river banks. While trying to understand the cause of the chaos, our binoculars revealed nine fascinating Dholes stalking these ill-fated Chitals. This was a clever strategy devised by the Dholes, where one male hid behind a bamboo thicket to keep an eye on the deer, while the rest pretended to walk away disinterestedly.

Spotted Deer (Axis axis) being chased by a Dhole (Cuon alpinus)

Unfortunately, the mother Chital, misinterpreting the situation as her problem being solved, began leading her fawn back to the bank, where the Dholes waited in anticipation. On their way however, a Dhole rushed into them, sadly separating the mother from the fawn. This Dhole was soon joined by another male. Confused by the situation, the Chital fawn jumped into the river without the mother. A few yards away, panting for breath, the mother was unable to cry out and helplessly watched her fawn, furiously stamping her foot the whole time.

In an attempt to swim, the fawn got into deeper water, which was luckily stagnant, but however, had Crocodiles in it. The guests on the boat were in tears as they watched this tragic scene and pleaded with us to rescue the deer! It was hard to explain to them that doing this would amount to stealing prey, and was as good as killing an animal in the wild.

Team work is the strategy that we humans have adopted from wild dogs, that has helped us become successful predators in the web of life!

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Mammals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.