Factors regulating the presence of domestic dogs in a national park

Soto, C. A., & Palomares, F. (2014). Human-related factors regulate the presence of domestic dogs in protected areas. Oryx, 1-7.

The presence of domestic species such as dogs Canis familiaris in protected areas can cause problems for native species as a result of competition, predation and disease transmission. To improve our ability to design effective control policies we investigated the factors affecting detection of dog tracks in a Mediterranean national park.
We investigated the presence of dogs across 69 2 × 2 km grid squares in Doñana National Park in south-west Spain and used logistic regression models to analyse the associated environmental and human constraints. We did not detect dogs in areas away from the edges of the national park close to human settlements (track census effort > 470 km) and the detection of dog tracks was correlated with human presence. We conclude that domestic dogs occasionally enter the Park from the surrounding area and are a direct threat to wildlife at the edges of the Park. Management actions to reduce the effects of domestic dogs in protected areas where feral dog populations are not established should focus on the spatial extent of local settlements, regulation and awareness-raising to encourage responsible dog-ownership, and control measures such as removing un-owned dogs from boundaries and areas close to human dwellings, and forbidding unleashed dogs in public facilities.

Pet cats reduce effective protected area

Lilith, M., Calver, M.C. and Garkaklis, M.J. (2008) Roaming habits of pet cats on the suburban fringe in Perth, Western Australia: What size buffer zone is needed to protect wildlife in reserves? In: Lunney, D., Munn, A. and Meikle, W., (eds.) Too close for comfort : contentious issues in human-wildlife encounters. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW, pp. 65-72.

We radiotracked 18 pet cats Felis catus from rural and urban areas within the City of Armadale, Western Australia, both at night and during the day between August 2003 and February 2005 to estimate the size of buffer zone required to reduce incursions by pet cats into native bushland. Home ranges of rural cats ranged from 0.07ha to 2.86ha, while those of urban cats were 0.01 ha to 0.64ha. Male and female cats had similar home ranges and there was no evidence of seasonal differences in home ranges.The longest linear distance moved by any cat was 300m, so allowing a 20% margin for estimation error a buffer zone of 360m is needed to reduce incursions by pet cats into native bushland in this municipality.

Cats reduce effective protected area

Wierzbowska, I.A, J.Olko, M.Hędrzak, K.R. Crooks. 2012. Free-ranging domestic cats reduce the effective protected area of a Polish national park, Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde, 77 (3) 204

Poland's Animal Protection Act, as of 2002, made it legal to shoot free-ranging cats and dogs. The act triggered substantial social debate with opponents arguing that this legislation was weakly supported by scientific evidence of the ecological impacts of free-ranging pets. Our main research goal was to examine the activity of free-ranging domestic cats within a Polish protected area by applying radio-telemetry methods to determine space use and degree of encroachment into the national park. We trapped and radio-tracked 19 animals from three sites (focal households) located in Ojcow National Park (ONP) in southern Poland from June 2003 to March 2006. Annual 100% MCP home range size varied from 0.02 km² to 1.46 km², and was significantly larger for males (mean ± SE = 0.79 ± 0.34 km²; median = 0.53 km²) than for females (mean ± SE = 0.13 ± 0.05 km²; median = 0.13 km²). The distance travelled by individual cats from focal sites did not significantly differ between males (mean ± SE = 232.00 ± 21.05 m; median = 191 m) and females (mean ± SE = 232.50 ± 12.47 m; median = 228 m), with maximum distances of 1.5 km for males and 1.1 km for females. All monitored cats were in close proximity to nature reserves and ranged into protected areas without any human control. Cats living in the households in the park and its surrounding buffer zone, roaming at 200 m and 1000 m radius distances from their households, occupied from 6% to 100% of the park area, respectively. Our results reveal that free-ranging domestic cats roam through and potentially impact the entire national park, thus reducing its effective protected area.