A wild dog of South, East and Southeast Asia and the only member of its genus. It lives in clans of about 12, sometimes more than 40, with several breeding females, and hunts large and medium-sized hoofed animals by day. It is endangered, with fewer than 2,500 mature adults.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inAsia
HabitatForest
ColoursRed, Brown, White
SizeMedium
Length88–113 cm, plus a 41–50 cm tail
Height42–50 cm at the shoulder
WeightFemales 10–17 kg, males 15–21 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inpacks
Lives for10–16 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Forests of South, East and Southeast Asia. It has died out in Central Asia and parts of Southeast Asia.
- What it eats
- Mainly deer, wild boar and other hoofed animals; also insects, lizards, and more fruit than other dogs eat.
- Conservation
- Endangered (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Also called the whistling dog, and hunts in clans that can top 40.
Its other English names include whistling dog, red dog and Asian wild dog.
During the Pleistocene its range stretched across Asia and into Europe.
Often confused with
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