Karnataka government approves for wolf sanctuary in Koppal

Bankapura in Koppal will get a dedicated wolf sanctuary spread across 332.68 hectares of reserve forest, with the state government on Saturday issuing an official notification to this effect.

The move comes a year after the Karnataka State Wildlife Board approved the proposal.

The government noted that the undulating terrains, rocky outcrops, scrub-like forests, natural dens, and agglomerations of boulders and stones provide an ideal habitat for the first-of-its-kind sanctuary for Indian grey wolves in Karnataka.

The sanctuary will also help the conservation of striped hyenas, jackals, foxes and other smaller mammals, officials said.

The habitat of grey wolves is rapidly decreasing across the country owing to biotic pressures and natural reasons. “The habitat has come down drastically, so much so that wolves have totally disappeared from a major part of Karnataka except in the northern plains,” the notification by the government said.