GREY
WOLVES - ENVIRONMENT
News:
In a first, Gujarat to
release in the wild 10 wolves bred in captivity - after training
What's
in the news?
●
Wolves in North Gujarat and North
Saurashtra will soon be joined by their captive cousins from Junagadh once they
finish a basic course in surviving the wild.
Key
takeaways:
●
In a first, the Gujarat Forest Department
is set to shift 10 Indian grey wolves from a conservation breeding centre at
Junagadh's Sakkarbaug Zoological Park (SZP) to forested areas in north Gujarat
and north Saurashtra.
Wolves:
●
Canis
lupus.
●
Also known as the grey wolf.
Habitat:
●
It is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America.
●
It tends to prey mainly on rodents, hare
and livestock.
Threats:
●
The wolves are threatened by habitat loss due to development,
hybridisation with dogs, fast-traffic roads, diseases, and severe persecution
by pastoralists.
Conservation:
●
IUCN Status: Least Concern .
●
Schedule
I
of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Pan-India
survey of Wolves:
●
Conducted in 2018-19 by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
●
The population of wolves in India was
estimated to be 3,100.
●
Highest
concentration:
○
Madhya
Pradesh (772)
○
Rajasthan (532)
○
Gujarat (494).
Density
of Wolves:
●
One individual per 100sq km and an average
pack comprised three wolves.
●
It also found that the density of wolves
was low in territories dominated by apex predators like lions and tigers, but
high in semi-arid scrub, grasslands and open forest systems.