A rare Indian grey wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) has been documented in the forests of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar for the first time by a team of researchers led by conservationist Sanjay Gubbi of Mysuru-based Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF).
While camera trapping for the study of leopards, the rare sighting of Indian grey wolf in the Southernmost forest landscape of the state was documented by the team comprising Sandesh Appu Naik, Girish MN, Gnanendra, Poornesha HC and others.
The species was camera trapped in Kothnur Range of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on the early morning of April 7, 2020. This is perhaps the first-ever photographic evidence of wolf presence in Chamarajanagar district. This record also documents the southernmost limit of wolf presence in Karnataka,” Gubbi told DH
The Karnataka Forest Department’s data indicates the wolf inhabits in isolated patches across arid regions of Koppal, Raichur, Ballari, Haveri, Tumakuru and other districts.
“With the sighting, all four canid species found in Southern Indian (Dhole- wild dogs- Indian wolf, Jackal and Bengal fox) have been documented in Chamarajanagar district,” he said. Indian gray wolf mostly survives in grasslands, scrub forests and is rarely seen in dry deciduous forests.
“Even though the species is distributed widely, it is threatened due to habitat loss and retaliatory killing. Indian wolf numbers are suspected to be lesser than that of tigers and they are protected under schedule-1 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972,” one of the researchers said.
Previous studies in Chamarajanagara district in Cauvery and Malai Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biligiri Ranga Temple (BRT) and Bandipur Tiger Reserves did not document the Indian grey wolf. The documentation has also established that all the four large mammals belonging to the dog family in South India have now been documented in Chamarajanagar district.
The study on leopards yielded valuable information about other species. The study documented the presence of honey badger in 2014. The researchers also recorded a new population of chinkara in Tumkur district in 2015. The easternmost limit of brown mongoose was documented in BRT Tiger Reserve in 2018.
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