Hi everyone! This week, I want to share an exciting observation I made on the Free-ranging domestic dogs (FRDDs), a.k.a street dogs.
Out of curiosity and love for dogs, I always lookout FRDDs in the field near Tampines IKEA. Nowadays, I see more FRDDs roaming in packs, and the packs are getting bigger! Previously, it was more common for me to spot them in solitary or pairs. And my recent observation? A pack of 8 stray dogs!
Solitary dog in 2016.
FRDD dog pack from Tampines field in 2020
I realised that the dog packs appeared after the new establishments of HDB flats in Tampines. I guess that the urbanization involving the use of land space has shrunk the usual natural spaces these FRDDs can roam, creating more chances to encounter one another and have greater chances to form packs.
This made me wonder, knowing that FRDDs know how to form packs, this surely would have more impacts on the environment. When I was young, I was always in denial when my father told me about how the village dogs (unowned FRDD) would team up to hunt for birds. I mean, aren’t they fed enough? Well, turns out I was wrong. According to Bonanni & Cafazzo (2014), FRDDs prefer to hunt cooperatively in a pack than solitarily, especially in places with suitable prey and fewer food resources by humans. I was curious about what types of prey FRDDs would predate on and how this predatory behaviour contributes to loss of biodiversity, so I did some research to find out more!
In India, FRDD packs compete with the Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) for the Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra). On top of that, Jhala & Giles (1991) reported that the FRDDs killed the Antilope fawns. This worries me as they even attack young fawns, would there be enough surviving offspring to maintain their species? Moreover, the Indian Wolf species are listed as “Endangered” under the Wildlife Protection Act, with an estimate of only 3000 of them left. The competition with FRDD is an energetically costly behaviour, which I feel can affect the wolf’s daily activities and behaviour (Too tired to mate perhaps?).
Even though Blackbucks are classified “Least concerned” under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species, I do feel that the predation of any wildlife species by the FRDDs can pose a significant threat to the environment.
Let us look at this food web I made to better illustrate the significance of the FRDD predation and how interconnected food chains are in the forest ecosystem of India.
From this, we can see that due to the competition with FRDD for Blackbuck, the Indian wolves may resort to consuming more of other prey within their diet, for example, the Indian Hares (Lepus nigricollis). Unfortunately, the Indian Hares are also part of the food chain for the Indian leopard, which is classified as “Vulnerable” under the IUCN Red List, meaning the leopards face high extinction rates in the wild without interventions. The Indian leopard would tend to consume other prey within its diet, which are part of other food chains. Ultimately, this affects the entire ecosystem, where a change in the population numbers in one trophic level can cause a cascade effect, a chain of events that disrupt a balanced ecosystem of the environment, leading to loss of biodiversity of wildlife.
For my next post, let’s see how free-ranging domestic cats impact the environment!
Paws out!
References:
Bonanni, R and Cafazzo, S. (2014). The Social Organisation of a Population of Free-Ranging Dogs in a Suburban Area of Rome: A Reassessment of the Effects of Domestication on Dogs’ Behaviour. 10.1016/B978-0-12-407818-5.00003-6.
Hughes, J. and Macdonald, D. (2013). A review of the interactions between free-roaming domestic dogs and wildlife. Biological Conservation, 157, pp.341-351.
Jhala, Y. and Giles, R. (1993). The status and conservation of the wolf in Gujarat and Rajasthan, India. Biological Conservation, 63(3), p.276.
Hi Rachel,
It is interesting that you mentioned about the natural spaces our street dogs inhibit. I always thought that these dogs tend to stick more to industrial estates where they are fed or forest fringes near housing estates. One of the few times I’ve seen FRDDs was at the forested patch near my home, and the dogs would follow and bark at everyone walking past. After a while this situation seemed to be …resolved but wild boars soon took over the space so…
Have you noticed our FRDDs in natural spaces before though?
Hi Ee Kin!
Thank you for reading my blog post!
Yes I have seen many stray dogs around the open fields adjacent to Tampines IKEA (and many other places). However, those fields are starting to clear out for new estates and I am starting to observe more of the stray dogs oaming in residential estates or residing in industrial sites.
It’s interesting you observe the wild boars taking over the natural space the dogs once roam! Similarly to stray dogs, they are both classified as invasive species and pose a risk to Singapore’s local ecology. I wonder if there were any hostile interactions between the stray dogs and the wild boars, such that the wild boars only appeared after the dogs “disappeared”. I did a quick research and know of how wild boars would generally avoid conflict with stray dogs, well it’s a different story if the stray dogs starts chasing the wild boars. Their fights must be quite aggressive,considering how they have been used in Indonesia’s illegal fighting pits against one another
Indeed, there are many incidences of dogs barking at humans and even venturing into residential estates. Well, some people are afraid of that. Sometimes, I’m also afraid too if there are too many dogs in a pack and they start “smiling” (showing their teeth) at you.
I suspect the disappearance you noticed could be due to the Trap Neuter Release Management Program (TNRM) conducted by Animal & Veterinary Services. It’s a science-based humane approach to reducing dog population where AVS works with Animal Welfare Groups for stray dogs to help trap the dogs, to be brought to the vet to be neutered. The TNRM is usually conducted after complaints are lodged against the dogs. I will talk more about TNRM and it’s pros and cons in one my blog posts!
Thank you once again for visiting my blog Ee Kin! 🙂
– Rachel
Hi Rachel & Ee Kin,
When interacting with a dog (any dog), it’s a good idea to have some sense of what their body language and vocalisations mean because misreading their cues can result in an attack. This includes whether their ears are pointing forward, or the position of their tail, or whether their hackles are raised. Barking is hard to interpret because it can mean many things.
Some key things to do on our parts when confronted with a dog that seems to be behaving aggressively include not looking it in the eye, but instead looking down and to the side, while licking your lips and standing your ground. And never, ever run from a dog because this can stimulate the chase response.
Baring the teeth is a very clear signal that the dog feels threatened and you should slowly back away, ideally while making appeasing gestures (lip licking) and not looking it in the eye.
And although I can’t say anything (legally) specific about the distribution of the street dog population in SG, I can say they do occur in “natural spaces” too.
Hi Dr Coleman!
I did hear of tactics like avoiding eye contact and not running away from a seemingly aggressive dogs. First to hear of licking lips as a way to protect ourselves! It’s a really interesting way to communicate to the dogs, I feel like trying this technique on the dog patients that come to the vet clinic I work in, just to analyse their reactions.
For me, I find that the distribution of stray dog varies, but I usually spot them around grass fields with industrial constructions sites. Somehow the whole situation of stray dogs roaming about doesn’t feel natural to me since the stray dogs don’t occur naturally in this ecosystem, meaning they are invasive species. The dogs either rest in construction sites and are dependent on stray dog feeders. I wonder if they would actually survive in Singapore without stray dogs feeders around…
Thank you for reading my blog!
Cheers
Rachel