the 'Dhole'

[Vidhyanath Rao]

<X99Lynx at aol.com> wrote:
> Large packs of dholes are reputed in folk reports
> capable of taking on tigers,

This was repeated in a PBS show (Nature?), and it was asserted that the
tiger they were following moved away when it got the scent of the wild
dogs.

----

Regarding "year-round humidity" as explanation for wolves being absent
in South India: Do they make maps of humidity levels? My personal
experience was that the (lower) Gangetic plain is much more humid than
the eastern part of Tamil Nadu, Andhra in the summer (which at these
latitudes is April-June): These parts get much of their rain from the
North-East monsoon which occurs in Oct-Nov, and are leewards for the
South-West monsoon.

The avoidance of dense forest by wolfs may be a better explanation: The
pathway from the northwest to the Decan is blocked by two ranges
(Vindhya and Satpura), two major rivers that run east to west and what
must have been heavily forested areas in ancient times.

Regards
Nath