Reappearance of Dhole Cuon alpinus (Mammalia: Carnivora: Canidae) in Gujarat after 70 years

Abstract

The Dhole Cuon alpinus used to be the meso carnivore of the forests throughout Indian subcontinent; however, habitat loss, low prey biomass, and human disturbance exterminated the species from India’s 60% historic range, and the numbers are less than 1,500 individuals in wild.  Following the same shrinking trend, Dholes were extirpated from Gujarat.  A few doubtful sightings and inevident reportings generated ambiguity of Dhole presence in Gujarat.  We conducted a study in Vansda National Park with 15,660 trap nights at 30 trap locations, and have confirmed the rediscovery of Dholes in Gujarat after 70 years.  We estimated the Dhole’s minimum home range as 13.7km2 and also analyzed relative abundance index of other mammals.  The future retention of Dholes requires detailed range, diet, and adaption studies along with conservational efforts to reduce re-extinction probabilities.