Out of the 17,061 dogs living in the five kilometres buffer zone around Corbett tiger reserve, 13,378 were not vaccinated against any kind of disease. This has been revealed in the report of the dog population survey done within five kilometres periphery of the park earlier this year by the Humane Society International (HSI) India. The report was recently submitted by the organisation to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
According to HSI India, the first of its kind dog population survey commissioned by the NTCA has been completed inside an Indian wildlife reserve to determine how many vaccinations are needed to stop and prevent canine diseases from transferring to the big cats in Corbett. Research shows that tigers and leopards here are at risk from canine diseases like rabies, parvovirus and distemper - all caused by viruses that can be transferred from canine to feline. Tigers and leopards preying on these dogs can be infected.
HSI Asia director Rahul Sehgal said,"This survey is the first step towards the free roaming dog population programme that will help in further protecting the dogs and the wildlife habitat. After the survey, we now wish to vaccinate the dogs and identify if any are already infected," he said.
Dr Amit Chaudhari, who led the team in conducting the survey, said, "The majority of the dogs in this buffer zone are either owned by the villagers or are in their care. There are innumerable instances wherein the dogs are snatched away at night by the big cats. largely unaware of these infections and the available vaccinations for it, the villagers have not vaccinated these dogs."
Having recently presented the results to NTCA officials in New Delhi, HSI is currently preparing a proposal for the NTCA to take this project into the next phase of vaccinating the dogs as a pilot project that can be then extended to other national parks of the country.
It is pertinent to mention here that at times, stray dogs captured by local authorities in towns are released in and around the periphery of reserved forests. Dogs can get afflicted by rabies, canine distemper and parvovirus- which are highly contagious diseases that could have a catastrophic effect on the fragile tiger population, State the researchers.