Dholes (Cuon alpinus)

[TheHyenid76]

Dhole Cuon alpinus in Satchari National Park: on the first verifiable evidence from northeast Bangladesh

Abstract

The distribution range of the globally Endangered dhole Cuon alpinus overlaps mixed evergreen mid-hill forests of northeastern Bangladesh but lacks any authentic documentation. With the first evidence from this region, we observed the activity pattern of dhole, of its prey and of human activities in Satchari National Park, a part of a larger northeastern forested area, Raghunandan Hill Reserve Forest – the northernmost fringe of the Baramura Hills of India. We obtained 32 photos of solitary individuals on eight different events from six out of 587 camera trap days. Naïve occupancy estimate for dhole was 0.41 with a detection probability of 0.65. We identified two individuals, and reported five predation events. We encountered a moderately high temporal overlap of dhole activity with that of barking deer (∆̂1 = 0.65, CI = 0.42–0.83), human activity (0.63, 0.38–0.89), and livestock movement (0.59, 0.38–0.89). Given that dhole is a diurnal hyper-carnivore, illegal logging and tourism pressure appeared as major disturbances to the species' existence in the park. Habitats of northeastern protected forests, their adjacency with hill ranges of Tripura, and dhole being a habitat generalist, we conjecture its presence in the entire region and recommend thorough camera-trapping efforts.

Figure 2. Evidence of dhole Cuon alpinus in Satchari National Park. (A) Camera Trap Station 009 17 December 2018 at 07:19 h; (B) Camera Trap Station 012 15 January 2019 at 09:52 h; © Camera Trap Station 003 15 January 2019 at 11:44 h; (D) Camera Trap Station 008 15 January 2019 at 12:06 h; (E) Camera Trap Station 011 17 January 2019 at 07:39 h; (F) Footprint of dhole (photo: Harish Debbarma).

*This image is copyright of its original author

Dhole Cuon alpinus in Satchari National Park: on the first verifiable evidence from northeast Bangladesh Reply