Feeding ecology of the endangered Asiatic wild dogs (Cuon alpinus) across tropical forests of the Central Indian Landscape

Abstract

Studies on resource utilisation by carnivores are essential as they aid in assessing their role in a community, by unravelling predator-prey relationships. Globally, prey depletion is one of the primary causes of declining Asiatic wild dog (dhole) populations. Therefore, it is essential to examine their diet across their range. Our study presents insights into dhole feeding ecology across multiple sites from the central Indian landscape of Maharashtra, India, for the first time. We conducted scat analysis using a subset of genetically identified scats and collected additional data from kills observed while tracking radio-collared dholes and other known packs from 2 study sites. We analysed 861 scats, and 191 dhole kills to identify species and age class of prey. We estimated the relative contribution of various prey, utilising non-linear biomass models of prey consumption. Overall, wild ungulates like sambar and chital were the principal prey in terms of biomass (sambar 61.08%; chital 19.08%) and number of prey consumed (sambar 39.28%; chital 13.83%). An analysis of kill data also suggested that dholes strongly preferred the two deer species; and differential selection of age classes was observed at the 2 study sites. Our study can potentially help manage and conserve this important population of an endangered carnivore.

Figure 1

Jacobs’ index for prey preference in dhole diet across the central Indian landscape. The scale ranged from − 1 to + 1 representing strong avoidance and strong preference respectively. Sambar was the most preferred prey of dholes followed by chital and chausinga. Gaur, nilgai and wild pig were the least preferred prey.

Figure 2

Relative biomass of prey species and relative numbers of prey harvested by dholes across the study sites, Maharashtra, India: TATR Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, NNTR Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve, STR Sahyadri Tiger Reserve, UKWLS Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, MTR Melghat Tiger Reserve, PTR Pench Tiger Reserve.

Figure 3

Proportion of prey species in dhole diet based on overall kill observations of all species in field from two study sites (TATR and NNTR).

Figure 4

Proportion of age classes (Fawns, Sub-Adults and Adults) of chital and sambar found from the dhole kills in TATR and NNTR. Figure generated using the package “ggplot2” in R studio R Core Team (2019). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. (https://www.R-project.org/).

Figure 5

Relative proportion of principal prey with age classes (A—Adults, F—Fawns, SA—Sub Adults) harvested by dholes based on 3 categories of pack sizes (Large, Medium and Small) in TATR and NNTR from observed kills. Figure generated using the package “ggplot2” in R studio R Core Team (2019). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. (https://www.R-project.org/).