km Manas National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The range of habitats in the cross-border national park is ideal for the dholes. Factors such as habitat loss, declining prey availability, persecution, disease, and interspecific competition have contributed to the ongoing fragmentation of its populations. “We aimed to assess the relative abundance index, habitat use and factors (space and time) influencing dhole co-existence with other sympatric carnivores in Manas National Park,” the study, testing five hypotheses, said. “However, our study findings revealed a surprising positive relationship between dhole habitat use and tiger, rejecting the habitat exclusivity hypothesis.

Source: The Hindu October 08, 2023 18:04 UTC