Free-ranging dogs in protected areas

Hubballi: Free-ranging domestic dogs are the third most damaging invasive mammalian predators globally, after domestic cats and rodents, as per the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists argue that stray dogs have little ecological significance in terrestrial ecosystems, and in many instances, can have a negative impact on a wide range of wildlife habitats, including protected sanctuaries and national parks. Given that dogs are hardy, adaptable, and highly flexible with their diet, they can survive on almost anything.

Abi T Vanak, senior fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, whose team has studied stray dogs extensively, found that around 80 wild species in India suffer frequent attacks by domestic or feral dogs, nearly half of which are threatened as per the IUCN Red List.  

“The high density of free-ranging dogs is a threat. A pack of stray dogs can often hunt wild animals such as ungulates, small mammals and nesting birds. In many habitats, due to direct predation, they have emerged as top predators displaying their natural carnivorous nature,” he says.

According to the report Status of Tigers Co-predators and Prey in India, feral dogs were detected in camera traps in most of India’s 50 tiger reserves. The report says that these stray dogs are not just threats to hoofed mammals, which they hunt, but also to carnivores—since they carry infectious diseases like rabies, parvovirus, and canine distemper. 

In fact, scientists believe that the deaths of nearly 34 lions in Gujarat's Gir National Park in 2018 was caused by canine distemper.

Scientists also regularly report the hybridisation of dogs with wolves and jackals. “This can dilute the natural adaptations that wolves have, potentially threatening the endangered species,” says Vanak.

He calls for government action to control domestic dog and wild species interaction. He stresses the need for these measures, especially in rural areas, by taking local people into confidence. 

“India lacks a strict pet-ownership policy. Domesticated dogs, especially in rural areas, do not depend only on people for food but also hunt in hinterlands, a natural habitat of several grassland species. A policy must ensure pet dogs stay within human localities. Also, we need to empower forest officials to free protected areas from feral dogs,” he says.