In a recent study titled ‘Do dholes segregate themselves from their sympatrids? Habitat use and carnivore co-existence in the tropical forest,’ researchers have peeled away the layers of the complex and fascinating relationship between dholes, also known as Asiatic wild dogs (Cuon alpinus), and tigers in Assam’s Manas National Park. The study aims to unravel the intricacies that contour this carnivore cohabitation, shedding light on their interactions and habitat inclinations.
Key Discoveries from the Study
The research conducted in Assam’s Manas National Park uncovered a surprising positive correlation between dholes and tigers – a finding that challenges past presumptions of antagonistic interactions. The friendly bond between these two species could be due to overlapping prey resources or habitat compatibility, indicating a more complex ecological framework at work. This unexpected result sparks off an urgent need for further research.
Observations found dholes’ activity most closely matching leopards’ timing while being least synchronous with clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa). Moreover, this study underscores the conservation importance of Manas National Park as dhole populations grapple with fragmentation from habitat loss, decreasing prey availability, persecution, disease, and interspecies competition.
About Dholes
Belonging to the Canidae family and the mammalian class, the Dhole (Cuon alpinus) is a wild carnivore. Historically scattered across southern Russia to southeast Asia, they now primarily inhabit south and southeast Asia, including northern regions in China. In India specifically, dholes are concentrated in the Western and Eastern Ghats, central India, and northeast India, with significant conservation efforts in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, according to a 2020 study.
Dholes fall under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. They are also listed as ‘Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List and included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The establishment of reserves under Project Tiger has offered some security to the dhole populations cohabiting with tigers. In 2014, the Indian Government sanctioned its first dhole conservation breeding center at the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) in Visakhapatnam.
Manas National Park
Manas National Park is a national park, Project Tiger Reserve, an elephant reserve, and a biosphere reserve located in Assam, India, and borders the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. It was declared a national park in 1990 and earned the UNESCO World Heritage Site title in 1988. The park is home to a diverse fauna which includes the Indian One Horned Rhinoceros, Asiatic Elephants, Tigers, Clouded Leopards, Hoolock Gibbons, etc.
Past UPSC Civil Services Examination Question
A previous year question from the UPSC Civil Services Examination asked the candidates to identify protected areas that had been declared as Tiger Reserves, including Bandipur, Bhitarkanika, Manas, and Sunderbans. The answer, explained in this article, was 1, 3, and 4 only – Bandipur, Manas, and Sunderbans.