According to a survey conducted recently reveal shocking facts and figures about dogs. Typically, they’re free-ranging creatures that live around people without being part of any human family.
They live either singly or in small groups, anywhere from big cities to the edges of forests. The female dogs typically have one litter a year, either in spring or fall, but sadly less than half of pups survive to their adulthood. The survey was conducted between 2008 and 2011 by picking random areas and regions for their study. Data from the year 1941 sightings to draw up a time activity budget of dogs during the part of the day when they share the streets with humans was used for the study.
Dogs have always been a matter of debate in American cities. In 19th-century New York City, the debate involved paying impoverished children to participate in dog-murder. Coming to the situation in India, many people dislike street dogs perceiving them as dangerous or annoying and term them as dirty animals that bark, bite and spread rabies.
These notions are often founded on personal biases and no scientific data exist to support such claims strongly. Thus dogs do not usually pose a threat to human well-being.
Suprsingly, the survey report quoted that 99.85% of the dogs were typically submissive when interacted with humans. Facts also reveal that free-ranging dogs are an integral part of the human environment in India and many other countries.
Though our ancestors declared dogs are “man’s best friend” very little is known about the ecoethology of these animals.
The free-ranging dogs lead a scavenging life, depending on human excesses for their survival. They can serve as the perfect model system for understanding the process of development of the human–dog relationship that led to the domestication of other wilder animals too.
One should realize that the proper management of our refuse or tolerance, if not friendly attitude towards dogs can ensure their peaceful co-existence with us.