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Prey Composition of Post-denning Dhole (Cuon alpinus) in South Wayanad Forest Division, Kerala, India

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Abstract

Dhole (Cuon alpinus) prey composition in South Wayanad Forest Division, Kerala was investigated from May 2017 to July 2017. Dhole scats were collected from 28 selected forest trails and roads, a total distance of 138.94 km was surveyed in the study area. Encounter rate of Dhole scats across habitat varied, with higher encounter rate in the Shola Grassland (1.76/km), followed by Tea and Cardamom plantation. The average encounter rate of Dhole scats for the study area was 2.74 scats/km. A total of 80 Dhole scats were analysed microscopically by comparing hair samples with standard key and reference slides of known species. A total of 12 prey species were identified belonging to different size classes and 25% of the scats samples were found to be having multiple prey species. The relative contribution of each prey species was stabilized in the diets of Dhole at 65th scat sample. Brillouin’s index of the diversity of prey species was 0.55. The most common and the largest ungulate species, Sambar was constituted 69.68%, followed by Wild Pig (15.48%). Dholes occasionally prey on domestic cattle, constituted 2.81%. The lesser percent of livestock in the diet of Dhole indicating a lower level of conflict in the study area during the study period. Land-use changes and conversion of revenue forest areas into human habitation are threats to Dhole and its prey species in South Wayanad Forest Division.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Chief Wildlife Warden of Kerala Forest Department for granting permission to research within South Wayanad Forest Division of Kerala (Ref No. WL-10-19085/17 dated 03-05-2017). We thank District forest officer SWFD and all the fields staffs for their support at the time of sampling. We thank Dr. Jacob Alexander, Chief Veterinarian Thiruvananthapuram Zoological Garden, for his support during hair sample collection of zoo animals. We thank anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions to improve the quality of manuscript.

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No, we did not receive any funding for the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Wildlife Studies, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode, Wayanad, Kerala, 673 576, India

    Samuel George, Ashokkumar Mohanarangan, Dencin Rons Thampy & George Chandy

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  1. Samuel George
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  2. Ashokkumar Mohanarangan
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  3. Dencin Rons Thampy
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  4. George Chandy
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Contributions

SG: This work is part of SG master dissertation of MS (Wildlife Studies), He conceived idea and collected field samples and microscopic examination of samples. MA: Developed theory and performed computation and prepared manuscript. DRT: Assisted in the field sample collection and preparation of manuscript. GC: Supervised the work and revision of manuscript. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ashokkumar Mohanarangan.

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George, S., Mohanarangan, A., Thampy, D.R. et al. Prey Composition of Post-denning Dhole (Cuon alpinus) in South Wayanad Forest Division, Kerala, India. Proc Zool Soc 74, 147–154 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12595-020-00357-z

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