Zeitschrift für Ökosystem und Ökologie

Abstrakt

Wild Pigs (Sus scrofa)-A Missing link in Ecology Conflict, Crisis and Conservation

Boon Allwin, Jayathangaraj MG, Palanivelrajan M, Vijayarani K, Raman M, Serma Saravana Pandian A

Over the past few years, much emphasis has been given to the studies related to conservation, especially, to those that are non-invasive that measure glucocorticoids as bio markers of stress. Glucocorticoids typically increase in response to challenge and are sometimes used to predict mortality. These levels reveal fitness of an individual in terms of survival and reproductive success. The study was carried out to assess the faecal cortisol concentration in order to arrive at the baseline values pertaining to stress factors in wild pigs entering the agricultural fields around the forest regions and in domestic pigs comprising of desi pigs and cross bred pigs. The adjoining areas of Mudumalai wildlife region, Sathyamangalam wildlife region and Anaimalai wildlife region of Tamil Nadu, India were included in this study programme. The mean faecal cortisol concentration in the case of wild pigs that entered these areas were found using ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay). The wild pigs are always in conflict with agricultural production and cause unequalled damage. The occurrences of wild pig-human conflicts were also assessed. The findings demonstrated that fecal glucocorticoid assays provide an index of physiological stress in wild pigs and may prove useful in addressing conservation and conflict issues. To know the ecological and functional position of wild pigs in the ecosystem is very important as these animals are habitat generalists, prolific breeders and survive in almost any environment, of late these animals have been involved in a huge conflict with the humans especially pertaining to agricultural holdings. This paper aims at finding the triggering, corresponding and confounding factors that cause these pigs to wander into buffer areas and agricultural fields instead of forest regions causing disruption in the ecological equilibrium and ultimately ending up in conflict more severe than the previous one.