Dhole Hunt

June was an exciting month with plenty of dhole activity.  I worked hard from 5am to 10pm every day for 3 weeks and everything seemed to happen at once in rapid succession (after months of delay).  We spent a day in the field with our vet and his assistant on June 3rd.  As we stopped to find the source of a sambar deer distress call, canid shapes came into focus across the reservoir.  Three dholes were herding a young deer into the water!  It was my first chance to observe their hunting behavior which was surprisingly silent.  Still, there was enough non-vocal communication for them to coordinate efforts to keep the deer struggling in deep water.  The lead dhole was so intent on its prey that my field assistant was able to approach within 20m for a photograph.  This confused everything we have learned thus far about the pack avoiding human activity.  Unfortunately, we did not see a kill, the deer was able to sneak away into cover.

We had another exciting opportunity when a fresh sambar carcass was found by rangers who reported a pack of 10 dholes.  I have video of a single dhole returning to the carcass, but he was wary of the camera and focused on pulling the carcass (over the traps) out of camera range within a few minutes.  Our mistake was not staking down the carcass and setting up of cameras directly at the site.  Over the next few days, the dholes returned to the kill site, but did not touch a hind quarter that was staked in front of a camera.  Instead, they preferred to feed on the full carcass in the water by access through a tunnel in the grass where they could stay off of the road, away from our traps, and away from our camera eyes.

We also received news of two dholes that were shot by farmers in a village bordering the west of the sanctuary.  They accused the dholes of stealing chickens.  I set up cameras in the area and am working on convincing the farmers to report the site of the bodies so I can collect skulls.  I now have 15 working digital cameras and they are all in the forest.

Finally, after months of delay, I met a professor from Kasetsart University who brought vet student volunteers to help with blood samples from domestic dogs (for disease analysis). We completed approximately 30 interviews and blood draws, with plans for further work in mid-July.

I made a short trip to Khao Yai National Park at the end of the month to meet with a previous collaborator and obtain his permission to be included as co-author on my camera trapping manuscript.  This is essential for publication because the work was done under his permits. 

 July work will focus on village interviews/blood draws and extensive camera trapping to locate the dhole pack to the west.