Piercing the wind, cries of “Waaaaaaa-waaaa-waaaa-wa-waaaa” echo from the tower across the jungle water hole.  The sound quivers and hums, a desperate cry, yet there is no response other than a few smiles and giggles.  Then, another attempt, “Waaa-wa-wa-waaaaa!”  My team, rugged Thai park rangers dressed in camouflage, sit back and laugh at the funny farang (foreigner).  The farang is me and the desperate cry is my attempt at a fawn distress call.  I am trying to attract dholes.  Hardly anyone knows about them, yet they may be the key to the conservation of natural communities in tropical forests and grasslands of Southeast Asia.

 

What is a dhole?  A basic overview can by found on a web site created by L.S. Durbin.  This is a link outside of my site:  The Dhole Home Page

 

The little that is known about dholes is unique and fascinating.  They are secretive and live in highly social, close-knit packs of three to 20 individuals.  Dholes hunt cooperatively and maintain communication with pack members by ‘whistling’ through dense forests, which has earned them the name ‘whistling hunters’. 

 

Past research has mainly occurred in southern and central India during 1976-78 and 1995-98.  There is little to no information on dholes living in Southeast Asia. 

 

 

Dholes, or Asiatic wild dogs, are threatened with extinction, but overlooked with regards to conservation initiatives due to the lack of basic ecological information available on the species and because they are overshadowed by other charismatic carnivores like tigers.  Even their unique whistling communication while hunting is poorly documented.  For conservation actions, it is important to understand the processes that dictate the movements of animals, especially if the behavior will bring them into increased contact with people.  For my dissertation work, in close collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, and Thai graduate students and rangers, I will initiate the first comprehensive ecological survey of dholes in Thailand.

 

Our ultimate objective is to save these unique dogs from the brink of extinction.  This can only be done if we gain a better understanding for this species’ needs and ecology, and if we can generate accurate information about their importance for natural ecosystems in Thailand and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. This information will be essential to educate and motivate the public in these countries to invest in dhole conservation and save their natural heritage.

 

Our specific objectives represent the first steps in this direction:

 

Determine dhole habitat associations and distribution at Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand;

 

Use GPS tracking and observation to determine area requirements, movement behavior, habitat selection, and basic ecology of dholes;

 

Build technical capacity by training park rangers in wildlife monitoring, tracking, and trapping techniques.

 

Setting up a camera trap.

 

 

Dholes are one of the least studied and least understood canids globally.  However, we do know that dholes are at high risk of extinction due to ruthless persecution by local hunters, depletion of their prey animals (such as deer or rabbits), competition with other carnivores, and diseases transmitted by increasing populations of feral and domestic dogs.

 

The greatest threat to dholes results from the fact that local people regard them as “a pest of the jungles,” and consequently they are being trapped, shot, or poisoned.  Because of the public’s negative attitudes toward dholes and because they are perceived as less charismatic than other carnivores, such as tigers, dholes have also received little attention from scientists.

 

“ Except for his handsome appearance, the wild dog has not a single redeeming feature, and no effort, fair or foul, should be spared to destroy these pests of the jungle.”

~ Phythian-Adams, 1949

 

 

Disease transmission across the domestic-wild animal interface is increasing with anthropogenic change, including human land clearing and increased human populations along the borders of protected areas.  All of these changes increase contact between domestic and wild animals either directly or indirectly.  This is especially true for domestic dogs, which frequently roam freely, allowing them to come into contact with their wild relatives and transmit diseases.

 

Thailand may be an ideal place to study disease transmission between domestic dogs and wild carnivores.  The country’s natural forests declined from 75% to 25% between the 1960s and 1980s and remaining protected areas often are islands of forest surrounded by human-altered landscapes.  Households along the borders of these protected areas often keep multiple guard dogs or tolerate street dogs.  We already have an established research project in one such protected area: Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary (KARN) and are studying the ecology of dholes.  Our camera trapping studies in the area demonstrate that dholes as well as domestic dogs are found in KARN, and direct and indirect contact (via urine, fecal, or other body fluids) is likely to exist between domestic dogs and carnivores in this ecosystem.

 

We propose to study the role domestic dogs play in transmitting viral diseases to wild carnivore populations. We will use a combination of techniques, ranging from demographic analyses of domestic dog populations, tracking dog movements via GPS collars, detection of wild carnivores in domestic dog home ranges via camera-trapping, and lab analyses of domestic dog to detect viral disease antibodies.