Species

THE FOX (Vulpes bengalensis)

This smallest of the canid family members found in India inhabits open country, thorny scrub, deserts and semi-deserts of Gujarat. Bearing grayish fur, bushy tail with black tip, small legs, long and smaller body size, standing ears help us distinguish fox from its cousin jackals in the wild. It weighs 1.8-3.2 kg and forms long-term monogamous pairs. It is a sight to watch their 3-4 playful furry pups on their dens during winter in the open flat land of Bhal and Kachchh regions of Gujarat. They make several dens, each of them have 3-5 openings, which help them escape in case of any danger. It feeds opportunistically on insects, fruits, ground-nesting birds and smaller mammals. Two species of foxes are found in Gujarat, which are Indian Fox (Vulpes bengalensis) and Desert Fox (Vulpes vulpes) .

INDIAN GOLDEN JACKAL (Canis aureus)

Golden Jackal is an extremely adaptable canid found commonly in forested, scrub, savanna, semi-arid, grassland, agro-pastoral, and even in semi-urban habitats of entire Gujarat. Jackals could be distinguished by their size smaller than wolves and larger than foxes. Golden body and dark black fur on back with up raised ears, short legs, bushy tail and shorter snout, typical chorus howling and the way they walk could help us to distinguish them from wolves and foxes. They usually live in pairs and gather in a large number while feeding over a carcass, dumping sites in the outskirts of villages etc. The jackals are chiefly scavengers but some times even kill fawns, rats, hare, small goat, sheep etc. The howling of jackals is heard in rural areas, in peripheries of towns and in wilderness. They breed in summer and deliver 3-5 small puppies in roadside crevices, gullies, nalls in entire Gujarat.

THE INDIAN GREY WOLF (Canis lupus pallipes)

Largest of the canid family members found in India. There are more than 250 wolves inhabiting vast grasslands, thorny scrubs, deserts and semi deserts of Kutch and the Bhal region of Gujarat. Tall thin legs, yellowish to grayish fur on the body with darker fur on the back, long snout with beautiful eyes gives it an appearance of an Alsatian dog. Strong canine teeth, ability to chase and powerful sense of smell make them the best hunters of the plains. They hunt in a pack, where 5-7 family members chase their prey from all the sides and finally kill it. Blackbuck is their preferred prey they quite often lift goat and ship of the herders and can even kill adult nilgai some time. The pack has strong hierarchies where dominant male and females become the breeding alpha pairs, the subordinates help alpha pair to raise their young otherwise leave the pack and establish their own territories. They make their dens in safer and undisturbed open plains and gullies during winter and give birth to 4-6 pups. A long and deep howl of this one of the shyest carnivores is a thrill to hear during nights at Velavadar National Park.

WILD DOG (Cuon alpinus)

This whistling hunter is distinguished from wolf and jackal by more rounded ears and a proportionately short muzzle, a characteristic that enables it to exert an extremely powerful bite. It has a dark brownish fur and bushy tail with black tip. Like wolves they also hunt in and live in a pack of 10-25 in dense forests of India. There is a prolonged association between parents and offspring in a pack. The pack goes on a hunt during the daytime some time even kill a larger prey by biting off chunks of meat and by evisceration. They in a large pack even kill a deer like Cheetal and Sambar in the forests. This species is endemic to India. People of the Dangs and Shoopaneshwar area claimed to have observed wild dogs in Gujarat but it has not been confirmed.