Wildbuzz: Who let the dogs out

Plentiful rain in the catchment areas of dams and water holes of the Shivaliks have not only provided relief to wild creatures but has rid them of the menace of village dog packs

Plentiful rain in the catchment areas of dams and water holes of the Shivaliks have not only provided relief to wild creatures but has rid them of the menace of village dog packs.

HT Image

Sambar fawns were mauled in the dozens when the thirsty deer would make a beeline for the scant water available at the dams until June. Dogs have since retreated to the villages, where they were born, and are maintained by humans via the provision of water, shelter and food. Dogs will again foray to the dams when water levels recede in the hot and arid pre-monsoon months.

The question that arises is: how can dogs be labelled as “residents of the forest”, or “a part of nature”, as alleged by urban dog advocacy groups in a bid to rationalise the massacre of wild species? The absence of dogs from the jungle water resources for months at a stretch gives the lie to such contentions. Where and what do they eat, if fawns become inaccessible to dogs during the period when water resources are adequate? The answer is to be found in the villages. Killer dogs fall back upon human support and some are used by farmers to ward off wild animals foraging their crops at night.

Killer dog packs are often found mixed with particularly vicious breeds such as pit bulls, terriers, ‘bullys’ etc when they go about killing deer, leaving many carcasses uneaten as they cannot devour as much as they kill wantonly. The fact is dogs are opportunistic predators, like poachers, and wholly subsidised in their hunting off-season by humans.

It is time governments and NGOs acknowledge that an exploding population of domesticated dogs poses a virulent threat to wild species. Pragmatic management plans powered by amendments to the laws should be drawn up to pre-empt their “murders” in the muted, victimised wilderness.

State bird at dogs’ mercy

In the breeding season, it is not uncommon to come across a fledgling unable to complete its maiden flight from the nest and finding itself stricken on the ground. Traffic can crush it, or roving stray dogs and feral cats kill the fledgling. Traumatised parents are left vocalising their helplessness with impotent alarm calls from a tree or circling over their stranded offspring in utter despair.

Anuj Jain, a Sector-18 resident, had just walked out of his house when he came across a group of youngsters trying to unsuccessfully shoo away two dogs from killing a stranded fledgling of the grey hornbill, which is Chandigarh’s state bird. The dogs were salivating at the prospect; the terrorised fledgling looked as if it was begging in vain for mercy from a Taliban-style execution.

Initially, Jain was seized by the dilemma: should he rescue the hornbill from the dogs? Was the bird the natural food of the street dogs, otherwise sponsored by breads and biscuits fed by dog advocacy groups and individuals?

Jain overcame his dilemma, realising that this was not the case. Along with his brother, Amit, who was out for a morning walk, they chased off the dogs and restored the fledgling to a nearby tree where its parents were anxiously perched.

vjswild1@gmail.com