Part XIX — Indian wildlife and environmental encounters

19.1 Urban wildlife interactions

• Monkeys (rhesus macaque, bonnet macaque) — common in Indian cities. Dogs and monkeys often mutually antagonistic; bite injuries common. Rabies risk from monkey bites is low but not zero.
• Leopards (Panthera pardus) — real predation risk in urban peripheries of Mumbai (Aarey / Sanjay Gandhi National Park), Bengaluru (Bannerghatta), Nashik. Small dogs at highest risk. Documented cases annually.
• Cows and bulls — territorial bulls in some Indian cities can cause trauma.
• Feral dogs — territory battles with pet dogs are common. Rabies and distemper transmission risk.
• Wild boars — increasing urban encounters; dangerous.

19.2 Reptile encounters

• Snake bite — see Part 3.23.
• Crocodile / gharial — riverine areas of northern India.
• Monitor lizards — rare aggressive interactions; large monitors can injure a dog.

19.3 Insects and arachnids

• Scorpion sting — see Part 3.23.
• Bee / wasp swarm — see Part 3.23.
• Centipede bite — painful but rarely dangerous.
• Fire ants — swarm envenomation possible.
• Ticks — see Part 3.11 and 3.27.

19.4 Environmental hazards

• Heatstroke — see Part 11.2. Peak summer heat risk.
• Cold exposure — Himalayan and Northern Indian winter risk for short-coated breeds.
• Waterborne pathogens — Leptospirosis (see 3.11).
• Monsoon-related — mould exposure, ear infections in humid conditions.
• Diwali fireworks — noise phobia risk (see 3.28); risk of physical injury from firework debris.
• Holi colours — many synthetic Holi colours contain toxic heavy metals and organic dyes. Keep dogs indoors on Holi.
• Traffic — road-traffic accidents are a leading cause of trauma in urban Indian dogs.

19.5 Zoonotic risks (dog → human)

• Rabies — India has the world's highest human rabies burden. Vaccinate your dog. Any bite from a suspicious animal is a medical emergency for the human bitten.
• Leptospirosis — bacterial; via urine contamination.
• Salmonellosis — rare with commercial diets; higher with raw feeding.
• Toxocariasis — roundworm larvae migrans in humans, particularly children. Regular deworming.
• Ringworm (dermatophytosis) — fungal; contagious to humans.
• Sarcoptic mange (scabies) — contagious to humans temporarily.
• Giardia — protozoal; contagious to humans.
• Ehrlichiosis, rickettsial diseases — tick-borne zoonoses.
• Multi-drug-resistant bacteria — dogs are increasingly reservoirs of AMR bacteria; hand hygiene after handling wounds matters.

19.6 Reverse zoonoses (human → dog)

• Influenza — some human strains can infect dogs.
• COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) — documented sporadic human-to-dog transmission in the pandemic; no evidence of dog-to-human transmission in reverse.
• Tuberculosis — rare but documented.
• Multi-drug-resistant bacteria — bidirectional.