title: Commensal in conflict: Livestock depredation patterns by free-ranging domestic dogs in the Upper Spiti Landscape, Himachal Pradesh, India.
abstract: In human-populated landscapes worldwide, domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are the most abundant terrestrial carnivore. Although dogs have been used for the protection of livestock from wild carnivores, they have also been implicated as predators of livestock. We used a combination of methods (field surveys, interview surveys, and data from secondary sources) to examine the patterns and factors driving livestock depredation by free-ranging dogs, as well as economic losses to local communities in a Trans-Himalayan agro-pastoralist landscape in India. Our results show that livestock abundance was a better predictor of depredation in the villages than local dog abundance. Dogs mainly killed small-bodied livestock and sheep were the most selected prey. Dogs were responsible for the majority of livestock losses, with losses being comparable to that by snow leopards. This high level of conflict may disrupt community benefits from conservation programs and potentially undermine the conservation efforts in the region through a range of cascading effects.
authors.affiliation: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Sriramapura, P.O. Jakkur, Bangalore, 560 064, India. chandrima.home@atree.org.|Manipal University, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, 576 104, India. chandrima.home@atree.org.
authors.forename: Chandrima
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0369-8198
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Home
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box # 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun, 248 001, Uttarakhand, India.
authors.forename: Ranjana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.affiliation: World Wildlife Fund, Pirojsha Godrej Building, 172 B Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, 110 003, India.
authors.forename: Rishi Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5 IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore, 570002, India.|Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N #325, Seattle, WA, 98103, USA.
authors.forename: Kulbhushansingh R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Suryawanshi
authors.affiliation: Nature Conservation Foundation, 3076/5 IV Cross, Gokulam Park, Mysore, 570002, India.|Snow Leopard Trust, 4649 Sunnyside Ave N #325, Seattle, WA, 98103, USA.
authors.forename: Yash Veer
authors.initials: YV
authors.lastname: Bhatnagar
authors.affiliation: Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Sriramapura, P.O. Jakkur, Bangalore, 560 064, India.|School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, King George V Ave, Durban, 4041, South Africa.
authors.forename: Abi Tamim
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2435-4260
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Vanak
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D058751:Livestock; D011235:Predatory Behavior; D012756:Sheep; D019596:Wolves
keywords: Canis lupus familiaris; Economic loss; High-altitude desert; Human-subsidized carnivore; Human–animal conflict