• Endangered and hard-to-spot dholes, or Indian wild dogs, will soon test their fortunes in the Eastern Ghats.
• The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP), running a conservation breeding centre for the species, plans to reintroduce a pack of 16 into the forests.
• Earlier, Darjeeling’s Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park had a programme for the red panda and a Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme was undertaken in Assam.
• Protected under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and listed as ‘endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the dhole was adopted by IGZP in 2014 under the Central Zoo Authority’s mandate.
• The Visakhapatnam zoo has, since, successfully bred wild dogs from two packs taking the number from just two to 40.
• Dholes, with a cinnamon-coloured coat, bushy tail and an alert gaze, are aggressive pack predators, covering long distances on a hunt.

Source: The Hindu