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Context: A community based conservation initiative for wolves in the Ladakh Trans-Himalaya’’, has been published in Frontiers, an international ecology journal, describing the success of the initiative.

Wolf in India:

• Out of 32 sub-species of wolves that are recognised, two are believed to inhabit the Indian subcontinent: the Tibetan Wolf and the Indian wolf.
• The Tibetan wolf is one of the world’s most ancient species.
• Distribution Range:
  • Tibetan Wolf-range extends from trans-Himalaya into Tibet and China. It can be found living in Ladakh in the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau
  • Indian wolf that ranges over peninsular India. Indian wolf is distributed across the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
• Population in India: Unlike the Indian wolf, which we know numbers around 3,000, there is not enough data on the Tibetan wolf.
• Protection Status:
  • Indian wolf: Least concerned (IUCN Red list)
  • Tibetan wolf : critically endangered
  • Both species are protected as a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act.
  • They are listed on CITES Appendix I as endangered due to international trade.

Threats to Wolf in India:

• Habitat destruction: increasing demand and pressure on grasslands
• Local community people kills wolves to protect livestock, they use Shandong (wolf traps), which is an important part of their cultural heritage.
• depletion of the natural prey base

What are Shangdong?

• Shangdong are traditional trapping pits with inverted funnel-shaped stone walls, usually built near villages or herder camps.
• Typically, a live domestic animal is placed in the pit to attract the wolves.
• Once the wolves jump into the pit, the walls prevent them from escaping. The trapped wolves are usually stoned to death.
• In 2017, the Nature Conservation Foundation NCF started working with communities and religious leaders to support the neutralisation of the Shandong while preserving their structure, and assisted the communities to build Stupas.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ladakhs-plan-to-save-its-wolves-stupas-insurance-7830489/

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