ZOONOOZ August 2015

Dhole House
Once the tigers moved into the new Tull
Family Tiger Trail, their former exhibit was
found to be a great habitat for the dholes. The
six separate indoor bedrooms are arranged
in a horseshoe shape. “The tigers, as a solitary
species, weren’t so keen on this arrangement,
but the highly social dholes like to
keep an eye on each other,” explained Tina.
There is a feed chute on each door that was
used to dispense bones and other treats for
the tigers, which also works for dhole treats.
The vast outdoor area of the dhole habitat
needed a few adjustments. “Dholes are great
diggers, so the underground, three-foot barrier
along the fenceline was closely inspected
and reinforced before they moved in,” said
Tina. Dholes are also devoted water lovers,
so the existing pool is a favorite hang-out
spot. “We built a shelter over part of the pool
so the dholes can spend more time in the water,
even when the sun is strongest.”
Dhole Drama
While the keepers are still getting acquainted
with each dog, there is a clear hierarchy
in the group that must be adhered to. “We
always feed them in order of dominance,”
said Tina, which avoids conflicts later. For
instance, Lucius recently lost his top-dog
status to one of his sons, Sanuk, so he is
now fed second. Each animal gets a special
ground-meat canine diet daily and a rabbit
and femur bone weekly. “We hand-feed
them so each animal gets its fair share.” It
can be difficult to tell the dogs apart, aside
from Lucius missing a piece of his ear and
the youngsters lacking white fur on their
chest and feet. But the individuals reveal
themselves in other ways. “We go by behavioral
differences more than physical differences,”
explained Tina. Even that can be
challenging, as “they rarely want to be separated
from one another.”
Dholes are pack-driven animals, and
their keepers are learning the etiquette of
the pack dynamics while also working with
individuals for husbandry purposes. To
maximize animal welfare and healthcare
and minimize stress to the animals, each
dhole—Sanuk, Lucius, Beni, Jetsan, Katsu,
Torma, Kono, and Yoshi—will be schooled
in practical behaviors like station (staying in
Dholes use water
to stay cool and
hydrated. They
enjoy their pool at
the Safari Park!
a particular spot), down, sit, target, rise up,
present paw, and open mouth. This training
is accomplished through positive reinforcement
with rewards, which deepens the
animals’ relationship with their keepers and
keeps the sessions upbeat and constructive.
Dhole Talk
Despite the dholes’ resemblance to domestic
dogs, they are still wild carnivores that deserve
a wide berth. “They can be aggressive,
so we only go in with the young ones,” said
Dholes are unusual animals that few
people have ever seen. They are a part of
the Behind-the-Scenes Safaris at the Park.
Tina, “and always with two keepers.” She
explained that the dhole’s greeting includes
snapping at each other—an expression of
endearment for them, but not so endearing
for humans. Dholes can be quite vocal, too,
calling to keep in touch over short or long
distances, which is handy when they are
cooperatively hunting. Living in close-knit
packs of 5 to 12 dogs—there is one breeding
alpha pair and the rest help tend to the
pups—communication in the form of whistles,
barks, growls, alarm calls, and other
chatter is key.
The International Union for Conservation
of Nature estimates that there are fewer
than 2,500 dholes remaining throughout
their range in Asia, with a downward trend
continuing. Threats include loss of habitat
and prey base (mostly deer and other
hoofed animals), and dholes are listed as
endangered. Besides the Safari Park, only
two other facilities in the US have dholes:
The Wilds in Ohio and the Minnesota Zoo.
San Diego Zoo Global has been breeding
dholes since 2001 in an off-exhibit breeding
site; 20 pups have been born there to 4 different
mothers. Our newest litter of dholes
was born in January 2015, bringing our
current off-exhibit pack population to 12.
Because of the breeding success, the animal
care staff was able to form the non-breeding
group that has taken up residence in the
Asian Savanna exhibit. So take a Behindthe-Scenes
Safari and check them out. I
double dog dare you! n
SAN DIEGO ZOO GLOBAL n SANDIEGOZOO.ORG
29