Abraham Pious

Tea for two: India’s commodity agroforests as coexistence landscapes for the endangered Asiatic wild dogs and people - Ambio Gauging the resilience of coexistence landscapes requires a thorough understanding of the modalities, benefits and vulnerabilities of human–wildlife interactions in shared spaces. We sought to investigate how the endangered Asiatic wild dogs (‘dholes’ Cuon alpinus) share space with people in the tea-dominated agroforests of India’s Western Ghats. We assess spatial ecology (population-level space-use patterns and pack-level microhabitat associations) and diet profiles to gauge the extent to which dholes’ ecological requirements are conducive for cohabitation with people. The Western Ghats’ tea agroforests support a thriving population of dholes, subsisting on the diverse and abundant wild prey species. Despite proximity to people and high livestock densities, we found no evidence for dhole attacks on humans, and very low reliance on domestic animals as prey. These benign––positive interactions offer opportunities for preserving near-intact food-webs in commodity agriculture lands to supplement biodiversity conservation beyond designated Protected Areas, particularly across South and Southeast Asia.

new publication;
Tea for two: India’s commodity agroforests as coexistence landscapes for the endangered Asiatic wild dogs and people

link: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A massive thank you to my incredible co-authors, funders (Wildlife Conservation Society—India, @wildnetorg.bsky.social) and other colleagues whose hardwork made this possible. So proud of what we have accomplished together!

Client Challenge

Our findings revealed a fascinating story of adaptation. It challenges the conventional idea that meaningful conservation can only happen within the strict boundaries of national parks.
You can read the full paper here: rdcu.be/eJCia

Research on the endangered Asiatic wild dogs.

It's here! My first-ever paper is officially published! We looked at how the endangered Asiatic wild dogs(dholes) are thriving alongside people in India's tea plantations. Turns out, these human-made landscapes are vital havens for wildlife
#dholes #ecology #conservation #wildlife #AcademicSky #dogs

Facing this right now!😂