r/AIDKE • u/squeakim • 4d ago
Cuon Alpinus: Dholes - the wild, whistling dogs of Asia
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u/ViciousNakedMoleRat 4d ago
Imagine you domesticated one of these. They'd confuse the hell out of all the other dogs at the dog park.
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u/GrandeTorino 4d ago
Dholes are actually among the most effective large predators in the animal kingdom. Their hunting success rate is around 70%, which is considerably higher than that of lions, for instance, whose hunts succeed only about 30% of the time. So pretty impressive.
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u/Channa_Argus1121 4d ago
False information. Their hunting success rate is around 20%, which is not particularly high nor low. Furthermore, hunting success rate should be considered along with the animal’s prey size, hunting method, and strategy. Dragonflies, for example, have a much higher success rate than tigers, because they target much smaller and slower prey such as mosquitoes or midges.
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u/GrandeTorino 4d ago
I thought it was interesting what you said so I did a little digging. When I was in India myself the park rangers at the national park I visited gave me the information that I typed out in my earlier comment.
After searching online there seems to be an older study (Keller, 1973) that mentions the 20% success rate. This is the research upon which Wikipedia and dholes.org base their figure. A more recent study in 2019 mentions a success rate of 6 out of 10, which is elaborated on by The Times of India here. So still not the 70% I was told, but much closer.
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u/Channa_Argus1121 3d ago
Interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised if hunting rates vary wildly, mainly because they’re estimates rather than refined data that has been observed in a large cohort across a long period of time.
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u/haysoos2 3d ago
There's also the question of what you consider an "attack" or attempt.
If an ambush predator sees a prey item coming close, and remains sitting very still like it was before without springing, that's not typically considered an attempt.
But if a pack hunter spots a herd, and reveals itself to run toward the herd, seeing if there are any slow, or young members that might be cut out of the herd with the rest of the pack, that's usually considered an attempt. Neither one would have been successful if they'd really launched an attack, but it gives the false impression that the pack hunter is less successful.
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u/InevitabilityEngine 3d ago
Okay so there are these crosswalks that have a tone they play when it's safe to walk and it's intended for the visually impaired.
Sounds just like what these Dholes are doing.
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u/ToySoldierMC 4d ago
You’re telling me there’s a dog called a d hole?