The most ancient Indian wolf is set to be a new species

They are poisoned, their natural prey resources are largely depleted, and the semi-arid areas where they live are seen as barren lands. | Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

The discreet, charismatic inhabitant of the bushes and grasslands, the Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipesThe wolf species, whose population has fallen to around 3,000 individuals in India and Pakistan, is likely to be classified as a new species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which will increase the number of wolf species in the world to eight.

The Indian wolf was first placed in the umbrella genus of the gray wolf, which roams many parts of Asia. But as genome and DNA sequencing shows, the Indian wolf has the oldest living lineage of any wolf in the world.

The dogs were also listed as “vulnerable”, giving it much-needed attention and incentive to protect the much-maligned animal and protect its rapidly shrinking habitat, condemned as “wasteland” and too often taken over by major projects.

YV Jhala, former dean of the Wildlife Institute of India and currently a senior scientist at the Indian National Science Academy, explained that there are multiple threats to this animal. Dr. Jhala said they were poisoned because they hunted livestock, their natural prey base was largely depleted in sensitive habitats, and the semi-arid areas where they lived were destroyed by highways and renewable energy projects. Hindu.

“A study area I inspected in Kutch has now been swallowed by the Adani Solar Farm,” he added.

There is also the worrying contact with wild dogs. “By mating with wolves, they create hybrid animals and spread diseases such as rabies.”

The cruelty of wolves is intriguing because, unlike the leopard, for example, they are not known to attack humans.

“Recently, there have been two wolf-human conflicts, one in 1996 and the other last year in the Bahraich region. [in Uttar Pradesh]said Dr. Jhala.

He added that the Bahraich incident was due to “extreme poverty”: “People, even babies, sleep outside on cots. And the wolves have no prey.”

According to the information obtained, 6 people, including 4 children, have died and 30 people have been injured in wolf attacks in Bahrain since September. Meanwhile, almost the entire herd was shot dead.

How does updating the IUCN help?

“There have been calls for declaring a separate species for over two decades,” said Abi Vanak, director of the Policy Design Center at the Ashoka Ecology Research Foundation in Bengaluru. Hindu.

“The Indian wolf is already covered by Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act. The wolf does not require tightly protected areas like bustards and other inhabitants of open natural ecosystems. Rather, they serve as best models for coexistence, and that is what should be encouraged. By downgrading the wolf to ‘vulnerable’ status (I am not calling it upgrading), hopefully more international attention and funding can flow towards its conservation and animal life.” areas.”

Dr. Going forward, it is important to acknowledge the IUCN assessment by developing a national policy and management plan for the unique, ancient Indian wolf, Jhala said.