Research shows how local knowledge offers new insights into lives of the dholes in Western Ghats

Two studies led by researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, and the Wildlife Conservation Society-India (WCS-India), explore how local ecological knowledge can help understand the endangered Asiatic wild dog, or dhole (Cuon alpinus), in the human-dominated landscapes of the Western Ghats.

Together, the two new studies show that communities living and working alongside dholes can provide detailed information about the elusive animals’ movements, pack sizes, behaviour and interactions with other species.

Making use of local knowledge

Dholes are among the most threatened large carnivores in the world. India holds the largest global population of the species.

The first paper, titled ‘Local Ecological Knowledge offers opportunities to study and monitor elusive carnivores in coexistence landscapes’, examines local knowledge about dholes across Wayanad in Kerala and Valparai in Tamil Nadu. Researchers conducted 476 interviews with locals, plantation workers and Forest Department personnel, documenting dhole sightings, pack sizes, habitat use and their interactions with domestic dogs, livestock and other carnivores.

Information gathered through these interviews provided a broad picture of dhole activity across protected forests, reserve forests and agroforests.

The study found that interactions between dholes and people were common in tea plantations. Yet, livestock attacks were extremely rare, while many respondents reported that dholes avoided people. At the same time, interactions with domestic dogs were recorded more frequently, highlighting a potential avenue for monitoring competition and disease transmission between wild and domestic canids.

Blending ecological insights with folklore

The second study, titled ‘The hunting god: Vernacular knowledge on Asiatic wild dogs (Cuon alpinus) blends ecological insights with folklore in a shared agroforest landscape of India’s Western Ghats’, looked more closely at the relationship between people and dholes in Valparai. Through interviews with 89 community members, including residents of tribal settlements and plantation workers, researchers explored not only people’s knowledge of dhole ecology but also their memories, stories, songs, beliefs and spiritual associations with the animals.

The interviews revealed detailed knowledge of dhole behaviour. Residents described coordinated hunting, pack communication, vocalisations, diet, breeding periods and the use of different parts of the landscape.

However, the relationship went beyond ecological observation. People described dholes with a mixture of caution, curiosity, admiration and affection. While close encounters could evoke fear, respondents generally described dholes as animals that avoided people and contrasted them with other large carnivores that they encountered more frequently. Some residents admired the animals’ agility, coordination and teamwork during hunts.

Among the most striking findings was the cultural significance attached to dholes. In several tribal communities, they are known as “vettaikara apichi”, loosely translated as “hunting gods”. The term reflects a tradition of treating dholes with respect and reverence, alluding to a dhole-like shrine in the forests around Valparai. Researchers also documented associations between dholes and forest deities, rituals, prayers, songs and oral traditions. Some stories portrayed dholes as protectors or as kin to people and domestic dogs.

At the same time, these traditions may be changing. Older respondents spoke of stories and knowledge that are becoming less familiar to younger generations. The researchers suggest that documenting such knowledge is therefore important not only for understanding wildlife, but also for recording cultural relationships with animals before they are lost.

The researchers suggest that combining scientific methods with local observations, vernacular knowledge and cultural perspectives could support more locally informed approaches to studying and managing landscapes where people and wildlife live alongside one another.