New record of dhole <i>Cuon alpinus</i> in Vietnam, yet apparent decline of the species across the country
Abstract The dhole Cuon alpinus was historically one of the most widespread large carnivores in Asia, but it has declined across its range as a result of habitat loss, hunting and prey depletion. There are few recent confirmed records of the species in Vietnam, and it has been reported as possibly extirpated. Here, we report a new camera-trap record of a dhole in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, in Nghe An province, north-central Vietnam. To our knowledge, this is the first confirmed record of the dhole in Vietnam in > 20 years. We are unable to determine whether the record represents a vagrant animal or a remnant population. However, this new record should be viewed in the wider context of the species’ decline across Vietnam. During 2014–2024, in addition to our study, 3,231 camera-traps were set in 1,657 stations across 31 sites that would have been within the species’ historical range but the dhole was not recorded. We conclude that, despite this new record, the species is likely extirpated across most protected areas in Vietnam.
Authors
- Aishwarya Maheshwari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6338-4254)
- Ha Viet Vu
- Van Nguyen Thanh
- Quy Tan Le (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9394-1800)
- Van Son Le (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4904-5683)
- Dai Phan Viet
- Jürgen Niedballa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9187-2116)
- Andreas Wilting (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5073-9186)
- Oliver R. Wearn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8258-3534)
- Andrew Tilker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3630-8691)
- Phuong Nguyen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7204-6329)
- Anh Tuan Nguyen
- Van Tri Tin Nguyen
- Trung Tien Cao
- Dung Van Tran
- Duy Le
- Pham Xuan Hoan
- Minh Le
- Thien Tri Ha
- Toan Van Nguyen
- An Nguyen
Institutions
- Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VN)
- Fauna and Flora International (GB)
- Vinh University (VN)
- Leopardstown Park Hospital (IE)
- WWF Tanzania (TZ)
- Vietnam National University of Forestry (VN)
- Wildlife Information Liaison Development (IN)
- Cat Tien National Park (VN)
- Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (DE)
- Southern Cross University (AU)
- Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Oryx
- Published
- 2026-02-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0030605325101580
- Primary Topic
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- United States Agency for International Development
- National Geographic Society
- Idea Wild
- Auckland Zoo
- Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund
- Eva Mayr-Stihl Stiftung
- Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz