Data from: Examining human-carnivore interactions using a socio-ecological framework: sympatric wild canids in India as a case study

Many carnivores inhabit human-dominated landscapes outside protected
reserves. Spatially explicit assessments of carnivore distributions and
livestock depredation patterns in human-use landscapes are crucial for
minimising negative interactions and fostering coexistence between people
and predators. India harbors 23% of the world’s carnivore species that
share space with 1.3 billion people in ~2.3% of the global land area. We
examined carnivore distributions and human-carnivore interactions in a
multi-use forest landscape in central India. We focused on five sympatric
carnivore species: Indian gray wolf Canis lupus pallipes, dhole Cuon
alpinus, Indian jackal C. aureus indicus, Indian fox Vulpes bengalensis
and striped hyena Hyaena hyaena. Carnivore occupancy ranged from 12% for
dholes to 86% for jackals, mostly influenced by forests, open scrublands,
and terrain ruggedness. Livestock/poultry depredation probability in the
landscape ranged from 21% for dholes to >95% for jackals,
influenced by land cover and livestock- or poultry-holding. The five
species also showed high spatial overlap with free-ranging dogs,
suggesting potential competitive interactions and disease-risks, with
consequences for human health and safety. Our study provides insights on
factors that facilitate and impede co-occurrence between people and
predators. Spatial prioritisation of carnivore-rich areas and
conflict-prone locations could facilitate human-carnivore coexistence in
shared habitats. Our framework is ideally suited for making
socio-ecological assessments of human-carnivore interactions in other
multi-use landscapes and regions, worldwide.