The diet, prey selection, and activity of dholes (Cuon alpinus) in northern Laos

Abstract

Although Southeast Asia is one of the last strongholds of endangered dholes (Cuon alpinus), or Asiatic wild dogs, little is known about dhole ecology in this region. We used scat collections, prey surveys, and camera-trap data to determine the diet, prey selection, and activity of dholes in a national protected area in northern Laos. Results showed that dhole diets were dominated by ungulates (87% of biomass consumed), with additional prey including other carnivores (6%) and rodents , 1 kg (6%). Concerning individual prey species, only muntjac (Muntiacus, 45%) and sambar (Rusa unicolor, 33%) contributed .7% of biomass consumed. Dholes were not random in their consumption of ungulates, because muntjac (20-28 kg) and sambar (185 kg) were selectively consumed over medium-sized (75-to 85-kg) ungulates. Dholes were almost exclusively diurnal, and their activity pattern was significantly different (all P , 0.003) from that of all ungulate species except wild pigs (Sus scrofa). Overall, prey selection by dholes appeared to be more influenced by social behavior and terrain use of ungulates, rather than by body size or activity of ungulates. In tropical forests of northern Laos, dholes focused predation on relatively few species during diurnal hours, suggesting the management of muntjac and sambar may be important for conserving dhole populations in the region.

On a Dhole Trail: Examining Ecological and Anthropogenic Correlates of Dhole Habitat Occupancy in the Western Ghats of India

“…Our results highlight the importance of medium to large-sized prey for driving dhole occupancy across the landscape, in concordance with other studies of dhole feeding ecology in the Western Ghats and across Asia [12], [13], [19], [20], [78].…”

Cuon alpinus (Pallas, 1811) (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Equi (Late Pleistocene, Massa-Carrara, Italy): anatomical analysis and palaeoethological contextualisation

“…For example, Kawanishi and Sunquist (2008) report that, in Malaysia, Cuon alpinus mostly preys upon mouse deer (Tragulus kanchil, body mass about 2-4.5 kg). By contrast, Kamler et al (2012) demonstrated a preference for larger prey in Laos, such as muntjac deer (Muntiacus) or sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), with an average prey body mass of 75-85 kg, as well as the occurrence of other carnivore remains in dhole scats. Sambar deer seems to be the most common prey in central India while dholes in the southern regions seem to prefer axis deer (Axis axis) (Kamler et al 2012).…”

“…By contrast, Kamler et al (2012) demonstrated a preference for larger prey in Laos, such as muntjac deer (Muntiacus) or sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), with an average prey body mass of 75-85 kg, as well as the occurrence of other carnivore remains in dhole scats. Sambar deer seems to be the most common prey in central India while dholes in the southern regions seem to prefer axis deer (Axis axis) (Kamler et al 2012). The preferences of dholes for different kinds of prey could be related to human action but could also be due to other carnivore antagonisms, as we will discuss subsequently.…”

“…Numerous females can also use a common den for weaning the cubs (Zhang and Chen 2011). They are diurnal and opportunistic animals and can prey numerous different species of ungulates and bovids of different sizes (Kawanishi and Sunquist 2004;Kamler et al 2012;Ullas Karath and Sunquist 2000). Several studies have been carried out to define feeding and habits of this specialised carnivore.…”

Small cat surveys: 10 years of data from Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo

“…Initially this resulted in broad classification of taxa as diurnal, nocturnal, crepuscular, or cathemeral (van Schaik and Griffiths, 1996). More recently, researchers have compared activity patterns among species to see how overlapping patterns may relate to competition or predation (Linkie and Ridout, 2011;Carver et al, 2011;Ramesh et al, 2012;Carter et al, 2012;Kamler et al, 2012;Ross et al, 2013;Azevedo et al, 2018). Ridout and Linkie (2009) presented methods to fit kernel density functions to times of observations of animals and to estimate the coefficient of overlapping, a quantitative measure ranging from 0 (no overlap) to 1 (identical activity patterns).…”