National
‘Population of Asiatic wild dog up in PWR’
There has been a marked increase in number of Asiatic wild dogs (Cuon alpines), locally known as Dhole, in Parsa Wildlife Reserve (PWR), officials have said.Shankar Acharya
There has been a marked increase in number of Asiatic wild dogs (Cuon alpines), locally known as Dhole, in Parsa Wildlife Reserve (PWR), officials have said.
Although the PWR authority has not counted the number of these endangered canine species, the footage captured in camera traps shows that their population has grown over the years. According to Assistant Conservation Officer Birendra Prasad Kandel,three herds of Asiatic wild dogs, each consisting of up to seven members, have been captured in film. “Their number could be somewhere between 21 and 25,” he said, adding that the Asiatic wild dogs were spotted near Bhedaha stream, Nirmalbasti and Jamuniya stream.
On Friday, a patrol team had come across three Asiatic wild dogs, hunting a baby Sambar deer.
Shashank Paudel, conservation officer of National Trust of Nature Conservation in Amalekhgunj, said the conservation of Asiatic wild dogs has always been
overshadowed because they are not popular as tigers or rhinos.
“Asiatic wild dogs are equally important when it comes to supporting the ecological balance. They must be conserved just like tigers and rhinos,” he said.