Pavagada a little known place in the dry arid regions of Karnataka is infamous for child-lifting instances presumably by wolves during the years 1983-84.

With all my sympathies to the families who lost their beloved ones whoever the culprit was, as a wildlife enthusiast from the dry plains, I could take pride that despite the burgeoning human populations wolves have survived in our district.

After the cheetah which coursed the dry plains of our country was exterminated in 1948, wolves remain one of the largest wildlife species in these parched landscapes.

In India due to population explosion and expansion of agriculture the dry scrubland and grassland habitats have dramatically shrunk.

Along with it, the numbers of habitat specialist wildlife which survive in these environments such as the wolf, Indian fox, blackbuck, four-horned antelope, chinkara have reduced as well. Even the numbers of wildlife enthusiasts who take interest in these dry area species has almost reached extinction.      

Today in our country it could be true that wolves’ diet largely consists of sheep and goats.  The reduction in densities of natural prey of the wolf such as the blackbuck and chinkara (Indian gazelle) has greatly impacted this canid.  Perhaps the chinkara might even be extinct from Karnataka.
 
The wolves travel along with the migrating shepherds with an eye on their diet and this brings them in direct conflict with humans.  Incidences of shepherds killing wolves and smoking their dens to exterminate the young ones are a common feature.

During the years 2001-02, in Karnataka alone 49 wolves were killed in retaliation according to H.N.Kumara and Mewa Singh of the Mysore University who have carried out a survey on wolves. They estimate a population of 550 wolves in Karnataka. This amounts to about ten percent of the wolf population killed due to human-wildlife conflicts.    

Belonging to the dog family wolves resemble Alsation dogs but slightly lean in built.  Unlike felids, these canids hunt their prey by chasing and have a life span of 10-15 years.  Two species of wolves inhabit our country: the Indian gray wolf found in the dry plains, and the Tibetan wolf found in the Himalayas which have a fluffy and bulky build.

In India an estimated 2000-3000 gray wolves are known to survive mainly in Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. 

In Karnataka, wolves are spread over an estimated area of 123,330 sq km across Gulbarga, Bijapura, Bagalkote, Belgaum, Gadag, Koppal, Raichur, Bellary, Davanagere, Haveri, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Kolar districts.

There are few designated protected areas for conservation of wolves. Melukote Wildlife Sanctuary in Mandya district is the only wolf sanctuary in the country, however the existence of wolves in this area is now in doubt. These interesting animals are found in Ranibennur and Daroji Wildlife Sanctuaries as well.

Designating exclusive wildlife sanctuaries for wolf conservation could be a distant or impossible dream due to severe shortage of their natural habitats. New innovative management guidelines have to be formulated for preservation of these gracious hunters. 

Kumara and Mewa Singh estimate the home range of wolves in Karnataka to be about 225 sq km. In this sea of human population it would be an unattainable task to find natural undisturbed habitats for these large home ranging mammals. Conservation action plans have to be developed based on the available condition.

The wolf has already disappeared from Mandya, Hassan, Bangalore, Mysore and Chamrajnagara districts of Karnataka.

Rare sighting

It was August 1994, monsoons had turned the landscape from dry brown to lush refreshing green. We were a small group of wildlife enthusiasts visiting Maidenahalli in Madhugiri taluk of Tumkur district. As we munched our meagre lunch a rustling sound in the bushes about hundred feet from us attracted our attention.

We remained motionless expecting some small wildlife, but to our astonishment a wolf appeared. But, it was not alone; we saw the second head popping out of the bush. The number of heads continued to increase.  One, two, three…… our count reached a total of six! We were overwhelmed; perhaps we had sighted one of the largest packs of wolves ever seen in south India.
 
But, our excitement was short-lived. Within minutes a khaki clad forest department guard appeared on the scene with a double barrel gun. And as we watched he aimed his gun at the wolves!

In our attempt to stop him and in reply to our query, he said, “These dirty wolves eat up all our deer (blackbucks), so our ranger has ordered me to eliminate all of them, sir.” The department staff were ignorant, even 22 years after passing of the Wildlife Protection Act, that the gray wolf was protected under schedule-I of the Act.

We managed to stop the forest watcher from carrying out his ludicrous act and brought it to the notice of Krishne Gowda, Deputy Conservator of Forests. Possibly my newly acquired moustache brought me some respect among Government officials who had begun to take me more seriously!

Gowda at once telephoned the range officer at Madhugiri to give him some stern advice about balance of eco-system and the role played by predators such as the wolves.

Our task didn’t end there, but started then with another Government department completely unconcerned with wildlife. The Maidenahalli area was under the ownership of the revenue department.

Though Bhaskar, the then Deputy Commissioner of the district agreed to transfer the rights to forest department he would not let go of the land ownership. The revenue department had the rights to withdraw the transfer any day. The area was left open to land grabbing!

However, as our luck turned tables, when in 1998 Tumkur got a Deputy Commissioner who was keen to save forests and wildlife - Gopal Krishne Gowda. Gowda saw to the transfer of the land ownership to the forest department and withdrew all conditions laid by his predecessor.

The wildlife of Maidenahalli owes a lot to this officer. Recently Maidenahalli was declared as a reserved forest bringing it under more legislative protection.

What needs to be done

New functional conservation measures have to be implemented. Shepherds have to be targeted for conservation education, suitable and prompt compensation has to be paid for loss of livestock due to wolf predation. 

Appropriate herding methods for livestock have to be designed to protect against wolf attacks. Most wolf populations survive in territorial forest divisions which do not have management plans for wildlife.

These forest divisions need to think of ways of conserving these unique wildlife species. Scientific studies on wolf are also an urgent need to evolve science-based conservation strategies. 

Some habitat and a little space in wildlife enthusiasts’ heart could save these gracious hunters of the plains.