Natural History
The free-ranging domesticated dogs have lived in close proximity with people in India for centuries. The earliest mention of strays goes back as far as the Mahabharata and the Rig Veda (Debroy 2008). Earlier work on free-ranging dogs is scattered and in-depth understanding of the eco-ethology of the dogs is missing. One of our long term goals involves extensive population level studies that would help us to gather robust data on the natural history of the free-ranging dogs. This would not only provide baseline information for designing experiments and planning behavioural studies, but would also help us to understand the interactions between dogs and people on a large scale. As part of this study we have been conducting spot censuses in various parts of West Bengal, which yielded an interesting result - dogs are facultatively social.This makes them efficient scavengers, but also gives them the possibility of strong social bonding, a behavioural shift from the ancestral cooperative hunting and breeding condition that might have been driven by the process of domestication. This work also yielded data on time activity budgets of dogs on streets during the major human activity period - between 7 am and 7 pm. Our analysis suggests that dogs are mostly lazy, spending about half of their time in resting, similar to many mammals, and are not quite aggressive, contrary to popular belief.
References:
Debroy, B., Sarama and Her Children: The Dog in Indian Myth, Penguin Books India, 2008.
We probe into the private lives of dogs using mostly our eyes, some times aided by cameras and binoculars. In the field, we never forget to carry a notebook, a pen and our brains! Our research involves behavioural observations, population level sampling and manipulative experiments. We study dogs in their natural habitat, i.e., on streets, and do not maintain individuals in captivity. Currently we are also not involved in studying dogs in shelters are kennels or pets, but we look forward to doing so in the near future.
PHOTOS/VIDEOS
FRIENDS
Funded projects:
- Behavioural Ecology of the Indian Stray Dog Canis familiaris. Funded by CSIR, India, April 2010 - September 2013, Rs.22,02,000/-
- Understanding aggression and its correlates in the Indian feral dog Canis familiaris. Funded by INSA, June 2010 - June 2013, Rs.1,50,000/-
- Parental care and social dynamics in free-ranging dogs in India. Funded by DST under the FASTTRACK scheme, August 2013 - August 2016, Rs.14,00,000/-.
- Mating dynamics, territoriality and social organization in the Indian free-ranging dog, Canis lupus familiaris. Funded by SERB, DST, under the Women Excellence award scheme, September 2013 - September 2016, Rs.18,00,000/-.
