The Wild Dog That Stole My Heart... Among the many wild mammals I have studied across India, none has fascinated me quite like the Dhole—the Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) . More than just predators, dholes are strategic, social hunters. Their intelligence and coordination allow them to bring down prey many times their size, from sambar deer to the occasional gaur. My first sighting, back in 2014, was electric: a pack of 7–8 dholes in the Melghat Tiger Reserve, stalking a f