Date:
September 11, 2014
Source:
Wildlife Conservation Society
Summary:
In India’s human
dominated agricultural landscapes, where leopards prowl at night, it’s
not livestock that’s primarily on the menu -- it is man’s best friend.
This is a camera trap image of a leopard looking for its favorite prey in India's Ahmednagar's district in Maharashtra.
Credit: WCS India
A new study
led by the Wildlife Conservation Society reveals that in India's human
dominated agricultural landscapes, where leopards prowl at night, it's
not livestock that's primarily on the menu -- it is man's best friend.
The study, which looked at scat samples for leopards in India's
Ahmednagar's district in Maharashtra, found that 87 percent of their
diet was made up of domestic animals. Domestic dog dominated as the most
common prey item at 39 percent and domestic cats were second at 15
percent.
Seventeen percent of the leopard's diet consisted of assorted wild animals including rodents, monkeys, and mongoose, and birds.
Livestock, despite being more abundant, made up a relatively small portion of the leopard's diet. Domestic goats, for example, are seven times more common than dogs in this landscape, yet only make up 11 percent of leopard's prey. The author's say this is because goats are less accessible and often brought into pens at night, while dogs are largely allowed to wander freely. Cows, sheep, and pigs were also eaten, but collectively made up less than 20 percent of leopard's food. Most domestic cattle in this region are too large to be preyed on by leopards.
The author's of the study say that the selection of domestic dogs as prey means that the economic impact of predation by leopards on valuable livestock is lower than expected. Thus, human-leopard "conflict" is more likely to be related to people's fears of leopards foraging in the proximity of their houses and the sentimental value of dogs as pets.
Study co-author Ullas Karanth, WCS Director for Science-Asia, said: "During the past two-to-three decades, legal regulation of leopard hunting, increased conservation awareness, and the rising numbers of feral dogs as prey have all led to an increase in leopard numbers outside of nature reserves in agricultural landscapes. While this is good news for conservation and a tribute to the social tolerance of Indian people, it also poses major challenges of managing conflict that occasionally breaks out. Only sound science can help us face this challenge."
Seventeen percent of the leopard's diet consisted of assorted wild animals including rodents, monkeys, and mongoose, and birds.
Livestock, despite being more abundant, made up a relatively small portion of the leopard's diet. Domestic goats, for example, are seven times more common than dogs in this landscape, yet only make up 11 percent of leopard's prey. The author's say this is because goats are less accessible and often brought into pens at night, while dogs are largely allowed to wander freely. Cows, sheep, and pigs were also eaten, but collectively made up less than 20 percent of leopard's food. Most domestic cattle in this region are too large to be preyed on by leopards.
The author's of the study say that the selection of domestic dogs as prey means that the economic impact of predation by leopards on valuable livestock is lower than expected. Thus, human-leopard "conflict" is more likely to be related to people's fears of leopards foraging in the proximity of their houses and the sentimental value of dogs as pets.
Study co-author Ullas Karanth, WCS Director for Science-Asia, said: "During the past two-to-three decades, legal regulation of leopard hunting, increased conservation awareness, and the rising numbers of feral dogs as prey have all led to an increase in leopard numbers outside of nature reserves in agricultural landscapes. While this is good news for conservation and a tribute to the social tolerance of Indian people, it also poses major challenges of managing conflict that occasionally breaks out. Only sound science can help us face this challenge."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Wildlife Conservation Society. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The above story is based on materials provided by Wildlife Conservation Society. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
- Vidya Athreya, Morten Odden, John D. C. Linnell, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, K. Ullas Karanth. A cat among the dogs: leopard Panthera pardus diet in a human-dominated landscape in western Maharashtra, India. Oryx, 2014; 1 DOI: 10.1017/S0030605314000106
Wildlife
Conservation Society. "Cat bites dog: In India's human dominated
landscapes, top prey for leopards is dogs." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily,
11 September 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140911092326.htm>.
No comments:
Post a Comment