Examining human–carnivore interactions using a socio-ecological framework: sympatric wild canids in India as a case study

• Published in: Royal Society Open Science
• Main Authors: Arjun Srivathsa, Mahi Puri, Krithi K. Karanth, Imran Patel, N. Samba Kumar
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2019
• Subjects: carnivores; coexistence; depredation; interviews; occupancy modelling; sign surveys; Science; Q; Indian; Canis lupus
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.182008; https://doaj.org/article/7b5171f56ffb472d83bf3632bd332a8f

Many carnivores inhabit human-dominated landscapes outside protected reserves. Spatially explicit assessments of carnivore distributions and livestock depredation patterns in human-use landscapes are crucial for minimizing negative interactions and fostering coexistence between people and predators. India harbours 23% of the world's carnivore species that share space with 1.3 billion people in approximately 2.3% of the global land area. We examined carnivore distributions and human–carnivore interactions in a multi-use forest landscape in central India. We focused on five sympatric carnivore species: Indian grey wolf Canis lupus pallipes, dhole Cuon alpinus, Indian jackal Canis aureus indicus, Indian fox Vulpes bengalensis and striped hyena Hyaena hyaena. Carnivore occupancy ranged from 12% for dholes to 86% for jackals, mostly influenced by forests, open scrublands and terrain ruggedness. Livestock/poultry depredation probability in the landscape ranged from 21% for dholes to greater than 95% for jackals, influenced by land cover and livestock- or poultry-holding. The five species also showed high spatial overlap with free-ranging dogs, suggesting potential competitive interactions and disease risks, with consequences for human health and safety. Our study provides insights on factors that facilitate and impede co-occurrence between people and predators. Spatial prioritization of carnivore-rich areas and conflict-prone locations could facilitate human–carnivore coexistence in shared habitats. Our framework is ideally suited for making socio-ecological assessments of human–carnivore interactions in other multi-use landscapes and regions, worldwide.