In Kipling’s The Jungle Book story “The Red Dog,” dholes attack Mowgli’s wolf pack.
Dholes are Asiatic wild dogs, scientifically known as Cuon alpinus. In the story, a large pack moves into the Seeonee jungle and threatens the wolves, creating one of Mowgli’s most dangerous conflicts.
Mowgli studies the animals and uses the jungle’s terrain, as well as the strength of the wolf pack, to resist the invading dholes. The story presents the dholes as disciplined, formidable pack hunters rather than as ordinary village dogs.
Readers sometimes confuse dholes with jackals or hyenas because all are wild carnivorous mammals. In Kipling’s story, however, the attacking animals are specifically red dogs, the traditional English name for dholes.