Dhole seen again in Kaziranga scenery

• The dhole, an Asiatic wild dog, has returned to the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape (KKAL) of Assam, according to a study by the Wildlife Institute of India.

• The elusive and less-charismatic carnivore may have gone unnoticed for an extended period, despite its ecological significance.

• A single individual was photo-captured on six occasions in the Amguri corridor, 375 meters from National Highway no. 37 and 270 meters from the nearest human settlement.

• The study highlights the ecological value of the corridor in supporting threatened species and the need to conserve it.

• The dhole’s current distribution is restricted to parts of central and eastern Asia, but its global range is now less than a quarter of its historical extent due to threats such as habitat degradation, prey depletion, and retaliatory killings.