A dog-eat-dog world: predation and resource acquisition by free-ranging dogs around Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Free ranging-dogs are being recognized as a potential threat for native wildlife around the globe. They interact with native wildlife at multiple levels, ranging from predation, competition, acting as a reservoir for diseases and hybridization with the native carnivores. We have recorded cases that focus on interactions of dogs with wildlife in and around Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve (RTR). Between 2017–2020, we collected data on free-ranging dogs interacting with native wildlife of RTR. We classified the interactions into two categories: resource acquisition and predation. Based on our results we propose that dogs in rural settings around wildlife reserves can cause more resource competition for the existing carnivore scavenging guild resulting in reduced biomass consumption for the native scavengers. When present in large numbers, they can have a negative interaction with native wildlife through predation and harassment. To understand how dogs can pose threats to the native wildlife, there is a need for an extensive study on the ecology of dogs around wildlife reserves, pertaining to their feeding ecology and their raging behaviour.