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

A rigorous assessment of dhole (Cuon alpinus) habitat occupancy in the Western Ghats, India, reveals that traditional presence-absence analyses significantly underestimate their range by 60%, or approximately 8,682 km². This study, the first to apply likelihood-based occupancy models accounting for imperfect detection and spatial autocorrelation, found that landscape-scale dhole distribution is primarily influenced by the relative abundance of principal ungulate prey, while reserve-level habitat use is negatively impacted by anthropogenic disturbance. Conducted across 38,728 km² and a smaller 935 km² reserve, the research highlights the critical role of ecological and human factors in shaping dhole occupancy, offering valuable insights for conservation efforts.

Srivathsa, A., Karanth, K. K., Jathanna, D., Kumar, N. S., & Karanth, K. U. (2014). On a Dhole Trail: Examining Ecological and Anthropogenic Correlates of Dhole Habitat Occupancy in the Western Ghats of India. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e98803. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098803