Indian Wolf - Kadbanwadi Grasslands, Indapur, Maharashtra

Running with the Wolves

The Endangered Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) is a subspecies of Grey Wolf & one of their most endangered populations in the world. Travelling in smaller packs and less vocal than other variants it has a reputation for being cunning. There are approximately 400-1,100 wolves living in the Himalayan Region and 4,000-6,000 wolves in the Peninsular Region. The Peninsular Region wolves are mostly found in agropastoral areas that have less forest density.

The Indian plains wolf (Canis lupus pallipes, synonym Canis indica) is formed by 2 closely related female lineage mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) haplotypes that fall within the Canis lupus pallipes subspecies of the gray wolf. It is only found in the arid and semi-arid peninsular plains of India. These lineages are genetically unique from all other wolves worldwide.

This is a video of my time spent running with these endangered peninsular wolves. There are approximately 400-1,100 wolves living in the Himalayan Region and 4,000-6,000 wolves in the Peninsular Region. The Wolves in the Himalayan Region prefer colder, steeper habitats while those in the Peninsular Region are mostly found in agropastoral areas that have less forest density (approximately 280,400km²). Wolves are an extremely social and enigmatic species. Unfortunately, this elusive predator has been unnecessarily defamed by mythology. They display love, affection, and bonding towards each other, making them the most powerful pack hunters.

The unique grassland ecosystem of the Indapur tehsil - Kadbanwadi & Baramati - attract a number of birds and animals some of which I have photographed and written about in earlier blogs. This time however I was focussed on the Near Threatened Striped Hyena and the Endangered Indian Grey Wolf. These have both been bucket list species for me for a long time now. I have tried earlier to photograph them at Rukhad with no success. But this time, given the confidence Ganesh and Sandip exhibited, I was certain of spending some quality time with both species. And what a time it was! Ganesh and I had the entire grasslands to ourselves and spent a lot of quality time with many species. We saw the Hyena after patiently waiting for a few days and the more elusive male that too. Then it was the turn of the equally elusive Wolf.

Read more about the wildlife of these magnificent and fast disappearing grasslands home to a number of species like these wolves, hyenas, jackals, foxes, and a number of migratory & resident birds.

1. Striped Hyena: https://wildart.works/behindthelens/s...

2. Wildlife of the Grasslands: https://wildart.works/search?q=Grassl...

3. Indian Fox/ Bengal Fox: https://wildart.works/behindthelens/i...

4. Golden Jackal: https://wildart.works/behindthelens/t...

5. Bhigwan Bird Sanctuary: https://wildart.works/search?q=Bhigwan

6. Kadbanwadi Grasslands: https://wildart.works/search?q=Kadban...

7. Wildlife of Maharashtra: https://wildart.works/search?q=Mahara...

📔 Species Directory: https://wildart.works/species-directory

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Background Score Attribution:

Drone in D by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...

Artist: http://incompetech.com/