Indian Grey Wolf and Striped Hyaena sharing from the same bowl: High niche overlap between top predators in a human-dominated landscape

Abstract

The Semi-arid wildlands of the West Bengal state of India are known habitats of Indian Grey Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) and Striped Hyaena (Hyaena hyaena) in India. However, increasing anthropogenic pressure in these regions is one major factor behind habitat loss and rising carnivore-human conflict. We mapped the suitable habitat and estimated the niche overlap of both species in the study landscape. Further, we assessed the habitat quality, identified corridors and quantified land sharing by both species. The anthropogenic disturbance (human settlements) was found to be one of the most significant contributors for both species. The higher Schoener’s D (0.612) and Hellinger’s based I value (0.858) indicates a considerable niche overlap of about 3529 km2. We observed a high level of fragmentation in suitable patches of Grey Wolf compared to the Striped Hyaena. For both Striped Hyaena and Grey Wolf, connectivity exists among the large patch of western and southern Purulia and Bankura. The Grey Wolf corridors in the Jhargram district were also found connected with other areas. We found that both the species, which are generally known rivals showing tolerance towards each other, which is an strong evidence of land sharing among the species. We recommend that the suitable patches and corridors identified in the study may be prioritized for conservation and management.