1-Aug-2020: Three States rank high in dhole conservation

A study has pointed out that Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh rank high in the conservation of the endangered dhole, in India.

Also known as Asiatic wild dog, Dhole (Cuon alpinus) is native to Central, South, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Dholes play an important role as apex predators in forest ecosystems. Dholes hunt in packs and tend to venture into forested landscapes adjoining protected areas. Besides the tiger, the dhole is the only large carnivore in India to be classified in the ‘endangered’ category by the IUCN. It is protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana and Goa will need to increase financial investments in the forest and wildlife sectors, and reduce the ease of granting forest clearances for infrastructure projects.

It is important to improve habitat conditions and prey densities in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha. Doing so would strengthen the link between dhole populations in the Western Ghats and central India.

It highlights the need for a targeted management plan for scientific monitoring of the species. The Western Ghats perhaps supports the largest dhole population in the world and is, therefore, a critical conservation landscape for the species.

27-Mar-2019: Study finds gaps in conservation efforts in Western Ghats

A new study has found that expansion of protected areas in the Western Ghats has not helped the lot of Dhole, commonly known as the Asiatic wild dog, even while enabling the recovery of populations of tigers and other big carnivores.

Dhole is an apex social carnivore in the tropical forests of South and South East Asia. Conservation of such carnivores leads to well-being of the entire ecosystem. There are many conservation projects based on this concept. These have helped improve the population of bigger carnivores like tiger. However, there is not much knowledge about what has happened to smaller and less known but equally important animals like dholes.

As a part of a long-term study, a team of scientists have now estimated the dhole population and its occupancy pattern in 16 protected forest reserves and adjoining landscapes covering an area of 37,000 sq. km in Karnataka portion of Western Ghats. They have found that there are 49 sites in the surveyed areas, which faced the threat of local extinction of the animal.

The researchers used a unique methodology for the study. They combined indirect sign survey data and dynamic occupancy modelling techniques. It is not possible to employ the normally used capture-mark-recapture camera trap-based survey method for estimating dhole population because they do not have uniquely identifiable marks on their bodies.

Generally, dholes hunt in packs and tend to venturing into forested landscapes adjoining protected areas. Anthropogenic factors, which fragment and alter landscapes, affected dholes. Under certain circumstances, the dhole population might even get restricted within the fragmented areas, forming meta-populations. If due conservation efforts are not taken towards these isolated populations, they might get wiped out. The new study has explicitly emphasised on conservation of these dhole metapopulations.

In a paper published in journal Scientific Reports, researchers emphasised that factors linked to human use of dhole habitats pose the highest level of threats to dhole populations. The presence of livestock adjacent to reserve areas negatively affected dhole occupancy. It affects habitat quality as livestock competes with the wild prey of dholes. Free-ranging feral dogs also adversely affect dhole populations because of competition for prey and by hosting a range of pathogens harmful to dholes.

Tigers and leopards are likely a lot more resilient compared to dholes. Dholes are perhaps a lot more sensitive to forest cover and therefore require more nuanced approaches for population recovery.

17-Jul-2020: Indian Pangolin rescued from smugglers

A rare pangolin (Mannis crassiscaudata) was rescued from suspected smugglers in an undercover operation by the Forest Department in Andhra Pradesh.

Of the eight extant species of pangolin, the Indian Pangolin Manis crassicaudata and the Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla exist in India.

Major threats to pangolins in India are hunting and poaching for local consumptive use (e.g. as a protein source and traditional medicine) and international trade, for its meat and scales in East and Southeast Asian countries, particularly China and Vietnam. There is now greater evidence of its inclusion in illicit international trade, in particular for its scales, from both India and Pakistan, with Myanmar and China comprising the most likely final destinations.

TRAFFIC (Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network) is mapping pangolin trade hubs, conduits, transportation, high poaching areas and drivers in relation to poaching and illegal trafficking of pangolins. In 2015, TRAFFIC, in partnership with WWF-India and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) launched a social media campaign to create awareness and divert efforts towards curbing illegal trade in pangolins.