Wild dog pair spotted in Debrigarh

Time of India

15-07-2025

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Bhubaneswar: In a rare development that brings cheer to Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary, a pair of wild dogs was sighted after two years of a lone male wild dog being captured for the first time.
Debrigarh authorities said the sighting raises hope for breeding. The endangered wild dog, also known as the Indian dhole, and they don't bark but whistle. They are also known as the whistlers of the wood.
"After more than a decade, a wild dog reappeared in Debrigarh during the winter of 2023. But its number remained one continuously until a pair—one male and one female—was recorded on Monday. Initially, the lone dog stayed confined to the core, but it started roaming in the tourism zone of the sanctuary, making itself visible to a number of tourists during safaris," said Anshu Pragyan Das, divisional forest officer, Hirakud wildlife division.
Wildlife officials said Debrigarh records a healthy population of prey base for wild dogs, with an increasing number of fawns and calves in sambar, chital, and wild boar herds this year, besides plenty of small mammals and other animals in its forest. "Competition to grab food sources is equally high, as the sanctuary records a good population of leopards, more than 80, and also a healthy population of hyenas. In 2023, for the first time, one wolf was recorded in the sanctuary, and till now, the single wolf is seen moving in the core area," Dash added.
Officials said the wild dog is a Schedule-1 species, endangered with a global population averaging 5,000. They are mostly seen in secured, protected areas, never outside forests or in disturbed and fragmented habitats. Wild dogs are carnivores, and tigers and leopards are their competitors as far as prey hunting is concerned. "Because of habitat fragmentation, their number is decreasing in the wild. Inbreeding or repeated breeding is also one of the reasons for their dwindling number," wildlife officials said.
Officials said there could be more wild dogs in the sanctuary and along the periphery areas. They move in packs to hunt prey animals, the ones the tigers and leopards choose for their food. "Focused grassland (meadow) management has helped attract herbivores towards the sanctuary. So, instead of them moving along the boundaries and along peripheries (fringes) for grass, now they move inside the sanctuary. This ultimately results in an ever-increasing carnivore population," a wildlife officer said.