Across some tiger reserves in India, such as Panna tiger reserve, Madhya Pradesh, there have been instances where tigers have died due to canine distemper.
In a recent study, dogs around the Jim Corbett National Park were surveyed to determine how many of them were vaccinated to prevent spread of canine diseases to tigers in the famous tiger reserve.
The survey carried out for three weeks across nearly 85 villages revealed that 17,061 dogs were living in the five km buffer zone around the national park and of them 13,378 were not vaccinated against any kind of diseases.
Across some tiger reserves in India, such as Panna tiger reserve, Madhya Pradesh, there have been instances where tigers have died due to canine distemper as dogs found in the buffer zones form a part of their diet. Around Panna, the forest department are themselves involved in vaccination of dogs who roam in the buffer zone. Those who are vaccinated have also been collared to identify them easily.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) commissioned the study to Humane Society International (HSI) to get an idea of potential threat to tigers from canine viruses.
According to Dr Amit Chaudhari, who was in-charge of the survey, HSI carried out the survey across the upper and lower altitude villages around Corbett national park and took a sample size of 90 villages from 318 villages. "We found that 90 per cent of the dogs were stray pet who were shepherd dogs. Villagers also said they were attacked and taken away by tigers at times, exposing them to potential viruses,"Chaudhari told dna.
HSI informed NTCA that tigers and leopards in the sanctuary are at a risk from canine diseases like rabies, parvo and distemper, all viruses that can be transferred from canine to feline as the big cats prey on the dogs in the buffer zone. HSI said they will propose vaccination of dogs around the national park. NTCA officials could not be reached to know if it plans to vaccinate the dogs around Corbett national park.
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