Hunter and Friend: The Indian Pariah Dog

Pariah dogs are accustomed to living close to human settlements and feeding on discarded scraps. There was a time when their sharp noses and good hearing were put to use hunting big game, transforming these mid-sized scavengers into ruthless, persistent hunters. The Gond tribe in India were among the first to use these dogs to run down their prey, which included wild boar, deer and other medium-sized mammals.

The Indian pariah dog is friendly, as anyone who’s been approached by a stray can attest to. They’ll approach you bright-eyed, wagging their tails, hoping for a little snack, though mostly they are met with a stone or a slipper. These dogs are found on our roads, living in storm water drains and feeding off the remains of your recently devoured grilled chicken. They guard our streets at night for free and raid our garbage bins with glee. Many of us humans have adopted these pye dogs as pets, and in doing so, have found a best friend. But, we also need to talk about the problem they pose.

Pariah dogs are found everywhere: cities, towns, villages, protected areas, buffer zones, sanctuaries and national parks. Stray packs sometimes attack people or kill livestock. In fact, worldwide, pariah species have been responsible for the extinction of eleven species, including the Hawaiian rail and the Tonga ground skink.

Strays found near forest areas pose a bigger threat. The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania lost one third of their lion and spotted hyena population in 1994 to canine distemper; a disease passed on from dogs found living around the park. This is a problem in India as well and one we need to address now, before we start adding to that species extinction list.