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Lone Indian Wolf Repeatedly Travelled and Rested With a Dhole Pack in Melghat

Two dholes resting together in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve
Research · Behaviour

A field report published in 2026 from Melghat Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra documents a lone Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) repeatedly associating with a pack of dholes (Cuon alpinus). Researchers recorded the animals together on three separate occasions between 24 March and 20 May 2025 near the boundary between the reserve’s core and buffer zones.

During the first encounter, two adult dholes and the male wolf moved away from a road together. At the second sighting, three dhole pups had joined the two adults, with the wolf following the group at a short distance. The third observation found the adults, pups and wolf resting together. Across the encounters, the researchers recorded no aggression, avoidance or defensive behaviour by the dholes, even when the wolf was close to the pups.

The association was the first recorded in Melghat

The authors describe this as the first recorded dhole–wolf association in Melghat Tiger Reserve. Only two earlier records of interactions between the two canids had been reported from other parts of central India. They interpret the repeated, tolerant encounters as evidence of a temporary interspecific association rather than a single chance meeting.

The reason for the association remains unknown

The report cannot determine why the wolf associated with the pack. The authors point to several possible, non-exclusive factors: edge habitats can alter prey availability and the way carnivores use space, while a dispersing wolf with few nearby conspecifics may temporarily gain social benefits from associating with another social canid. They also note that overlap between carnivores can increase when prey is scarce. Longer-term camera-trap, behavioural and movement data would be needed to establish how often such associations occur and what drives them.

Sources and image credit

  1. Pattayil, V., Tripura, B., Rao, P., Kasdekar, R. L., & Mehta, P. (2026). A lone wolf with a pack of wild dogs: first record of dhole-wolf association in Melghat Tiger Reserve of India. Canid Biology & Conservation, 29(2), 5–8.

Image: Anagha devi / Wikimedia Commons. Two dholes in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, India, 17 November 2019. Representative species photograph; not the Melghat animals. Cropped. CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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