Dholes

We conducted a study on the feeding habits of dholes in the Baluran National Park, Indonesia. Scat analysis was employed to identify the prey consumed. In total, 54 scats were collected across the park during the dry season of 2013 and analyzed to identify the prey of this species; at least 20 prey species were identified. Ungulates are the most important prey, estimated to contribute more than 95 % of the biomass consumed by dholes in BNP. Efforts to ensure availability of ungulates and to secure habitat will be the key to the dhole's conservation in Java.

Large scale spatial patterns of livestock predation risk from multiple co-predators are fundamental to applied conservation planning. Here, we examined important ecological, social, and landscape attributes explaining spatial patterns of human-carnivore interactions. We used a systematic grid-based framework, across an area of 14,200 km2 of sixteen Forest Divisions at the human-wildlife interface encompassing Protected Areas, Reserved Forest and Fringe Areas at the human-wildlife interface in the Eastern and Western Ghats, India. The data was collected on livestock depredation incidents from the tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), and dhole (Cuon alpinus) for the past five years, through semi-structured interviews (n = 1460) of local communities. We examined socio-ecological (i.e. livestock abundance and forest dependency) and landscape attributes (i.e. forest cover, climates and topographic) influencing the depredation events from each carnivore species. We found that livestock predation risk by the tiger, leopard and dhole was driven by the size of livestock species, the dependency of local people on the forest, topography, proximity to water body and the forest boundary, precipitation, and forest cover. Risk of predation from leopard and dhole exhibited high spatial overlap, and predation by leopards was higher than dhole and tiger. Livestock predation by leopard and dhole was frequent in open areas of Reserved Forest and buffer zones, while that from tiger occurred in densely forested core regions of Protected Areas (PAs). Our predictive risk maps (ca. 22,525 km2) showed species-specific predation patterns, reflected ecological differences among large carnivores with regards to their habitat and spatial partitioning for domestic prey. Our predictive predation risk map and factors associated with livestock predations provides powerful visual guidance and tools for PA managers in developing multi-species conflict mitigation strategies. We recommend diversifying local economic livelihoods and benefit-sharing options for local communities to minimize their forest dependency.

Systematic Camera trapping on the Barandabhar Corridor Forest recorded the presence of the endangered Wild Dog/Dhole in the area. A total of 1320 camera trap night efforts were conducted in the area in two blocks from 15th Dec 2015 to 20th Jan 2016. A single picture of dhole was captured and was sympatric with other large carnivores like tiger Panthera tigris tigris, leopard P. pardus, and golden jackal Canis aureus. This first record of Dhole outside the National Park opened a new gate for officials, wildlife conservationist, scientific communities, managers to think about its conservation. It also adds the proof of the healthy functionality of this corridor.

Systematic Camera trapping on the Barandabhar Corridor Forest recorded the presence of the endangered Wild Dog/Dhole in the area. A total of 1320 camera trap night efforts were conducted in the area in two blocks from 15th Dec 2015 to 20th Jan 2016. A single picture of dhole was captured and was sympatric with other large carnivores like tiger Panthera tigris tigris, leopard P. pardus, and golden jackal Canis aureus. This first record of Dhole outside the National Park opened a new gate for officials, wildlife conservationist, scientific communities, managers to think about its conservation. It also adds the proof of the healthy functionality of this corridor.

The Sardinian dhole (Cynotherium sardous)1 was an iconic and unique canid species that was endemic to Sardinia and Corsica until it became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene.2-5 Given its peculiar dental morphology, small body size, and high level of endemism, several extant canids have been proposed as possible relatives of the Sardinian dhole, including the Asian dhole and African hunting dog ancestor.3,6-9 Morphometric analyses3,6,8-12 have failed to clarify the evolutionary relationship with other canids.We sequenced the genome of a ca-21,100-year-old Sardinian dhole in order to understand its genomic history and clarify its phylogenetic position. We found that it represents a separate taxon from all other living canids from Eurasia, Africa, and North America, and that the Sardinian dhole lineage diverged from the Asian dhole ca 885 ka. We additionally detected historical gene flow between the Sardinian and Asian dhole lineages, which ended approximately 500-300 ka, when the land bridge between Sardinia and mainland Italy was already broken, severing their population connectivity. Our sample showed low genome-wide diversity compared to other extant canids-probably a result of the long-term isolation-that could have contributed to the subsequent extinction of the Sardinian dhole.

Systematic Camera trapping on the Barandabhar Corridor Forest recorded the presence of the endangered Wild Dog/Dhole in the area. A total of 1320 camera trap night efforts were conducted in the area in two blocks from 15th Dec 2015 to 20th Jan 2016. A single picture of dhole was captured and was sympatric with other large carnivores like tiger Panthera tigris tigris, leopard P. pardus, and golden jackal Canis aureus. This first record of Dhole outside the National Park opened a new gate for officials, wildlife conservationist, scientific communities, managers to think about its conservation. It also adds the proof of the healthy functionality of this corridor. 

Systematic Camera trapping on the Barandabhar Corridor Forest recorded the presence of the endangered Wild Dog/Dhole in the area. A total of 1320 camera trap night efforts were conducted in the area in two blocks from 15th Dec 2015 to 20th Jan 2016. A single picture of dhole was captured and was sympatric with other large carnivores like tiger Panthera tigris tigris, leopard P. pardus, and golden jackal Canis aureus. This first record of Dhole outside the National Park opened a new gate for officials, wildlife conservationist, scientific communities, managers to think about its conservation. It also adds the proof of the healthy functionality of this corridor.