Prey, habitat dictate Asiatic wild dog-tiger coexistence, says study

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

Overlapping prey availability or habitat suitability could dictate a positive association between dholes and tigers, facilitating co-existence or even cooperative behaviours between the two species of carnivores, a new study has found.

Details about the study:

Study conducted in: Western Assam’s Manas National Park
Study title: ‘Do dholes segregate themselves from their sympatrids? Habitat use and carnivore co‑existence in the tropical forest’
Sympatric refers to animals, plant species, and populations within the same or overlapping geographical areas.
Findings:
- The diurnal activity of the dholes had the highest temporal overlap with leopards and the lowest with clouded leopards.
- The global population of adult dholes is estimated to be between 949 and 2,215 individuals, scattered in localized areas of India and Thailand.
- The findings revealed a surprising positive relationship between dhole habitat use and tiger, rejecting the habitat exclusivity hypothesis.
- The positive association could be attributed to factors such as overlapping prey availability or habitat suitability, which may facilitate co-existence or even cooperative behaviors between dholes and tigers.

About Dhole (Asiatic wild dog):

The dhole or Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus) is the only endangered wild pack-living canid in the tropical Indian forests and is considered at high risk of extinction.
They are native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia.
Dholes were once widespread across southern and eastern Asia.
During the Pleistocene, the dhole ranged throughout Asia, Europe and North America but became restricted to its historical range 12,000–18,000 years ago.
Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf.
The dhole is a highly social animal. It is a diurnal pack hunter which preferentially targets large and medium-sized ungulates.
In tropical forests, the dhole competes with the tiger (Panthera tigris) and the leopard (Panthera pardus), targeting somewhat different prey species, but still with substantial dietary overlap.
IUCN Red list: Endangered
Factors such as habitat loss, declining prey availability, persecution, disease, and interspecific competition have contributed to the ongoing fragmentation of its populations.

Dhole range

Source: TH