By Khushi Arora 3 July 2025
After years of absence, the Asiatic wild dog — or dhole — has been spotted in Assam’s Kaziranga–Karbi Anglong Landscape by camera traps.
Pic: Wikipedia
In October 2022, researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) recorded the dhole in the Amguri corridor — its first confirmed sighting in NE India since 2011.
Pic: Deccan Herald
The lone dhole was captured six times on camera, just 375 m from a highway and barely 270 m from the nearest human settlement.
Pic: Tiger Reserves in India
Of the four corridors studied, only Amguri showed evidence of dhole presence, confirming its ecological value as a functional corridor for threatened carnivores.
Pic: Pugdandee Safaris
This camera-trap success came after a year-long study across 83 locations, covering the vast 25,000 sq km Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Landscape (KKAL).
Pic: iLearnCANA
Dholes are social pack hunters, but also move alone when prey is scarce. They are called “whistling dogs” for their eerie, high-pitched calls to communicate.
Pic: Wikipedia
Once widespread across Asia, dholes are now endangered, surviving in just a quarter of their former range, shrinking due to habitat loss, prey depletion, and conflict.
Pic: Deccan Herald
Dr Ruchi Badola of WII called this rediscovery a sign that forest corridors still support life — visible and invisible — in fragmented landscapes like KKAL.
Pic: The Civil India
This single sighting doesn’t confirm recovery, but it sparks something vital: a reason to keep believing that even lost species can find their way back.
It also reminds us that conservation includes more than the big, well-known species. Dholes matter too — and every return shows that care and effort make a difference.
Pic: carnivores.org
Forest linkages need protection, monitoring, and patience. Researchers say more surveys are needed to see if this dhole was a lone disperser or part of a group.
Pic: Tiger Reserves in India
This is hope in motion Share this story to remind someone that nature still remembers the way home—sometimes, all it needs is a little space and a lot of care.
Pic: Roundglass Sustain