- Nepal has launched its first-ever species-specific action plan for dholes (Cuon alpinus), allocating 262.9 million rupees ($1.9 million) over five years to address key threats such as habitat loss, prey depletion, disease and competition with larger predators.
- The plan prioritizes both scientific research and public awareness, with the highest budget shares going to understanding dhole distribution (25%) and conservation education (26.4%), highlighting a dual strategy of data-driven conservation and local engagement.
- A key innovation is the financial model, which leverages 36% of the funding from existing conservation plans for tigers and snow leopards — species that often share habitats with dholes but may also displace them.
KATHMANDU — Nepal has launched a species action plan focused exclusively on conserving the endangered dhole (Cuon alpinus), also known as the Asiatic wild dog.
The new 262.9 million rupee ($1.9 million) five-year plan, targets key conservation challenges by trying to strike a balance between improving scientific understanding of the species and promoting awareness among local communities.
“The primary objective of this action plan is to establish a strong and adaptable framework for dhole conservation in Nepal, which can also be scaled up across other range countries,” said Ramchandra Kandel, director-general at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.
The elusive dogs earning notoriety for chasing down their prey in packs were once found in areas ranging from the dense forests of Southeast Asia to the alpine zones of the Himalayas and into the temperate woodlands of the Russian Far East, according to IUCN, the global conservation authority.
“One of the most innovative aspects of the plan is its financial model,” said researcher and conservationist Ambika Khatiwada from the National Trust for Nature Conservation. “Around 36% of the funding will be shared from funding allocated for other species conservation plans, such as those for tigers and snow leopards,” he added.
While dholes may benefit from funding allocated for other apex predators, it is possible that they are being pushed to the fringes of protected areas by tigers and snow leopards, researchers say. IUCN lists competition with other predators as one of the key challenges to conservation of dholes — others being habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, disease transmission from domestic dogs and a shrinking prey base. This has resulted in fewer than 2,500 mature individuals remaining in the wild, the IUCN Red List assessment says. Around 500 of them are believed to be in Nepal, according to the action plan.
The action plan, which will be implemented between 2025 and 2035, comes as research suggests that despite the challenges, the animal may be staging a comeback in its historical range, especially in the country’s hills. It also comes two years after members of the Dhole Working Group, part of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Canid Specialist Group, convened in Kathmandu to conceptualize key actions to protect dhole populations in Nepal and beyond.
A 2024 study documenting multiple camera-trap sightings, recorded fresh scat and tracks and local knowledge from herders and forest rangers suggest that small populations of dholes, which were once extirpated in the area, are recolonizing parts of the Annapurna Conservation Area and the Tinjure-Milke-Jaljale corridor in eastern Nepal
The action plan, citing other studies, suggests that the wild canids may also be returning to parts of the plains such Parsa, Banke, Bardia and Chitwan, also key habitats of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris). In the mountains, the home of the snow leopards (Panther uncia), their presence has now been confirmed in Shey-Phoksundo National Park, Makalu-Barun National Park, Lamtang National Park, and Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, according to the action plan.
The highest share of the budget (around 25%) of the action plan has been allocated toward enhancing the understanding of the dhole’s distribution and abundance. This is a particularly important step, said Khatiwada.
The second-highest share of the budget (around 26.4%) has been allocated for promoting conservation awareness and education initiatives. “The allocation for the awareness and education activities show that the planners are giving around the same emphasis to improving scientific knowledge as well as raising awareness,” he added.
Researcher Yadav Ghimirey, part of the team that documented the possible recolonization of dholes in Nepal’s hills and wasn’t involved in the action plan formulation process, said the document was a welcome step in dhole conservation. “The plan could have been better if it incorporated measures to make use of local indigenous knowledge about the animals,” he added. “We see from our experience that communities at times know a lot more than the animal than us researchers,” he said. That is why it’s necessary that the awareness programs facilitate the exchange of knowledge between researchers and communities, Ghimirey told Mongabay.
The action plan outlines strategic steps to tackle key conservation challenges for this endangered species. As part of the objective to improve scientific understanding of the species, it calls for the use of extensive field surveys, camera trapping and advanced technologies such as AI. Similarly, to protect critical habitats, it includes plans for carrying out mapping of dhole presence across all ecoregions. To strengthen prey populations, it envisages the launch of prey density assessments.
Regarding the promotion of conservation awareness, the plan emphasizes education and outreach to communities, schools and policymakers while supporting community engagement in monitoring and conflict mitigation using tools like mobile apps and traditional ecological knowledge.
The plan calls for assessing the metapopulation structure and maintaining ecological connectivity by identifying corridors and using technology to track dhole movement and ensure gene flow between subpopulations.
Finally, the plan entails collaboration at local, national and international levels by fostering cross-border cooperation, harmonizing laws and engaging stakeholders to share data, align policies and secure sustained conservation funding and support.
Banner image: A dhole in India. Image by Rohit Varma via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dholes latest wild canids likely making comeback in Nepal, study shows
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