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The forest department is monitoring an outbreak of mange among a pack of Asiatic wild dogs in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in the Nilgiris, which they strongly suspect has spread to the animals through the local feral dog population.
The pack of Asiatic wild dogs, also known as dhole, are known to operate around Bokkapuram in MTR, a high human-wildlife interface area
Mange is a skin disease that affects mammals caused by microscopic mites that burrow into skin.
There are different species of mites that can cause the disease.
Sarcoptic mange can affect wild and domestic mammals and is often reported in wild canids such as red foxes, coyotes, gray wolves, and red wolves.
Parasitic mites that cause mange in mammals embed themselves in either skin or hair follicles in the animal, depending upon their genus.
Sarcoptes species burrow into skin, while Demodex species live in follicles
Asiatic wild dog (dhole)
The dhole is a canid (mammal of the dog family) native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia
The dhole is a highly social animal, living in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies and containing multiple breeding females
It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List
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