Ghosts of the Grasslands

Canis lupus pallipes/ Canis Indica

ENDANGERED

Kadbanwadi Grasslands, Indapur, Maharashtra

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. But before I get into my experience with the wolves, a little bit first, about their fast disappearing habitats.

UNESCO defines savannah grasslands as ‘land covered with herbaceous plants with 10 - 40% tree and shrub cover’ (White, 1983). Globally, they cover about 46% of the land surface and contribute to the livelihood of over 800 million people through supporting pastoralism, dairy sector and the agricultural economy (Murray et al., 2000, Sala et al., 2017). Tropical savannah grasslands support the highest diversity of wild herbivores and carnivores globally (Shankaran & Ratnam, 2013). Grasslands are also natural carbon sinks and therefore crucial to the global carbon cycle due to their high rates of productivity, enhanced carbon sequestration rates & geographical extent keeping global temperatures more or less in balance. They are also breeding grounds for many migratory and endangered species like the Indian Grey Wolf of which only about 3,000 are left in the wild. It is a common response from people to think forests when green cover is mentioned but grasslands are of equal import. These open natural ecosystems urgently need attention and government initiatives for protection and conservation.

In India, savannah grassland ecosystems cover various biomes (high-elevation Sholas in the Western Ghats, low-lying peninsulas, Himalayan plateaus, etc.) and occupy 17% of the geographical area of the country (White et al., 2000). In Maharashtra, these ecosystems (patches of >10 km²) take up over 8% of geographical area, including permanent pastures, grazing lands, and fallow land, according to a recent Open Natural Ecosystem (ONE) mapping study (Madhusudan & Vanak, 2021). Indian grasslands come under five categories based on grass species composition & climate (Dabadghao & Shankarnarayan, 1973); these are Sehima - Dichanthium grasslands (Peninsular India and the Aravalli range); Dichanthium - Cenchrus - Lasiurus grasslands (Sub-tropical arid and semiarid region); Phragmites - Saccharum - Imperata grasslands (Gangetic plains, Brahmaputra valley, and Punjab); Themeda - Arundinella grasslands (Himalayan foothills); and temperate/alpine grasslands (high altitude Himalaya).

Savannah grasslands in India support at least 46 different nomadic and settled pastoralist communities and greatly subsidise agricultural livelihoods (Kishore & Köhler-Rollefson, 2020). Pastoralism-based economies are the backbone of Indian agriculture, contributing 3% to the national GDP and providing employment and livelihood for 70% of the population in rural areas (Kishore & Köhler-Rollefson, 2020). The number of practising pastoralists is estimated to be close to 13 million in India (Kishore & Köhler-Rollefson, 2020), out of which at least 1-2 million are in Maharashtra. The latter includes communities like Hatkar Dhangar,

Grasslands are not wastelands. It is important to amplify scientific evidence that show ecological value of grasslands and address the identity crisis that is preventing effective interventions. Grassland patches in Maharashtra are found across Marathwada, Vidarbha, Solapur, Satara and other isolated patches along the Western Ghats. According to the Forest Survey of India, permanent pastures, grazing lands, and fallow land account for just 8% of the state’s geographical area. However, there is no estimation or study on how much of this falls within forest areas. Management of grasslands fall under different government departments. An inter-ministerial agency can enable more effective governance. 

The Endangered Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) is a subspecies of Grey Wolf. It is one of the most endangered populations of Grey Wolf 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 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 grasslands of Indapur and Baramati are home to a number of species like these wolves, hyenas, jackals, foxes, and a number of migratory & resident birds. Read more about the wildlife of these magnificent and fast disappearing grasslands. 

My friends from the Agnipankha Flamingo Birding Point - Sandip & Ganesh - messaged me that they were sighting Hyenas and Wolves fairly regularly. It took me a day to sort out my affairs and off I went in search of both. The photos and video featured here are the result of a few days of patient waiting and tracking and many hours spent from dark to dark in excess of 41 degrees Celsius.

Indian Grey Wolf/ Indian Wolf

The Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes/ Canis indica) is a subspecies of grey wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian subcontinent. From a size perspective it fits in between the Himalayan Wolf and the Arabian Wolf but lacks the former's luxuriant winter coat due to the conditions in lives in. Within this subspecies, the "Indian plains wolf" is genetically basal to all other extant Canis lupus apart from the older-lineage Himalayan wolf, with both proposed as separate species. The Indian plains wolf travels in smaller packs and is less vocal than other variants of the gray wolf with a reputation for cunning - the locals have a song dedicated to it, sung to the children of the village as a rhyme.

The Indian wolf is one of the most endangered populations of gray wolf in the world with 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).

One of the largest and most widely distributed megafauna in the Indian sub-continent; wolves are believed to have evolved from the group of Miacid that is, the extensional family of the carnivores superfamily, Miacoidea. Miacids were low-limbed, dog-shaped, long-body, lengthy-tailed carnivores, which existed about 50 million years ago. Miacids were known to be the first canids of the world which were also related to the first feline species e.g. Tiger. It was about 20 million years ago when miacid fragmented into two different families; Canines and Felines. Studies show that the first ancestors of Canids were recorded about two to three million ago.

The first Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) appeared in Eurasia about 750,000 years ago and then migrated to North America. Another cousin of the wolf (Canis Dirus) commonly known as The Dire Wolf evolved about 400,000 years ago, and they both co-existed in North America. The Dire wolf became extinct 7,000 years ago, and thereafter the Gray wolf came in the supreme power and still continues to rule the woods of North America. This enigmatic yet nomadic species is often misunderstood as being wild, or domesticated like dogs as they occupy human-dominated spaces, which makes them the most vulnerable species.  This intelligent animal has two subspecies of Canis lupus found in India. One of the wolves which are spread across peninsular India is the Indian Gray Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), and the other which is found in the Upper Trans- Himalayan range is the Himalayan wolf or Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus chanco).

The Indian wolf was first described to western science in 1831 by the British ornithologist William Henry Sykes under the binomial Canis pallipes. In 1941, Reginald Pocock subordinated it to Canis lupus under the trinomial Canis lupus pallipes.

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, including from other wolves forming C. l. pallipes. The Indian gray wolf and the Himalayan wolf are phylogenetically basal to all other wolves and are closer to the African wolf. This indicates that these are the descendants of an ancient wolf distribution. In April 2009, the Latin binomial Canis indica had been proposed for these 2 haplotypes as a nomenclatural and taxonomic split from Canis lupus as a new species through the Nomenclature Specialist on the CITES Animals Committee. The committee recommended against this proposal but recommended that the name be entered into the species database as a synonym of the name under which it was listed. The proposal was based on one study that relied on only a limited number of museum and zoo samples that may not have been representative of the wild population, and a call for further fieldwork was made.

One study, based on a fossil record, estimated that the divergence between the coyote and the wolf lineages occurred 1 million years ago and with an assumed wolf mutation rate, estimated that the divergence of the Indian gray wolf from the wolf/dog ancestor occurred 400,000 years ago.  Another study, which expressed concerns about the earlier study, gave an estimate of 270,000 years ago.

The Indian gray wolf is endangered and its population is estimated at 2,000-3,000. It resembles C. l. pallipes in its outer appearance (morphological features) and its social/reproductive behaviour, but it is smaller in size. It is genetically distinct from C. l. pallipes. These findings suggest that the Indian gray wolf is not the pallipes found in the Middle East and Central Asia.  It was therefore proposed that the Indian gray wolf be reclassified as a separate species Canis indica. In 2016, a study of the mDNA of both modern and ancient wolves indicated that the Indian gray wolf and the Himalayan wolf were genetically basal when compared with all other gray wolves.

In 2021, a study compared both the mitochondrial DNA and the nuclear DNA (from the cell nucleus) from the wolves of the Himalayas with those of the wolves from the lowlands of the Indian subcontinent. The genomic analyses indicate that the Himalayan wolf and the Indian lowland wolf were genetically distinct from one another. These wolves were also genetically distinct from – and genetically basal to – the other wolf populations across the northern hemisphere. These other wolves form a single mitochondrial clade, indicating that they originated from a single expansion from one region within the last 100,000 years. However, the nuclear analysis indicated that the Indian lowland wolf and the Himalayan wolf had separated from this lineage around 200,000 years ago, with the Indian lowland wolf being genetically basal to the Himalayan wolf. This nuclear DNA finding conflicts with mitochondrial DNA findings of the Himalayan wolf being the most basal, however the Himalayan wolf has admixed with a more basal but unidentified canid and this is what was being reflected in its mDNA. Wolves from Syria and Iran clustered with the other wolves, although these and the Indian lowland wolves are taxonomically classified together as the single subspecies Canis lupus pallipes. The wolves of this subspecies share morphological characteristics due to their adaptation to arid environments. In 2022 whole-genome sequencing estimated the distinct gray wolf lineage living in the semi-arid lowland region of the Indian subcontinent diverged from other gray wolf populations around 110,000 years ago.

Wolves are known for their speed and can run up to 45 km/hour. Being natural predators; they tend to prey mainly on rodents, hares, and livestock. However, when targeting bigger prey for example an antelope, their keen senses, powerful jaws, and mass endurance helps them to take down the prey within a few fleeting minutes.

Wolves generally live in a pack of 6-8 individuals that requires a bigger home range of about 180-200 km².

The Indian wolf is similar in structure to the Eurasian wolf, but is smaller, more slightly built, and has shorter fur with little to no underfur as clearly seen in the images when it loped past me. It is typically around 57–72 cm at the shoulders, with males ranging from 19 to 25 kg and females 17 to 22 kg in weight. Its length ranges from 103 to 145 cm from nose to tail. Like the Arabian wolf, it has short, thin fur in summer, though the hair on the back remains long even in summer, an adaptation thought to be against solar radiation. The fur is generally grayish-red to reddish-white with gray tones. The hairs are grizzled with black, particularly on the back, which sports a dark V-shaped patch around the shoulders. The limbs are paler than the body, and the underparts are almost completely white. Pups are born sooty-brown, with a milk-white patch on the chest that fades with age. Black specimens are rare, but have been recorded in India's Solapur district and two regions of Iran. In the latter country, the mutation was found to be naturally occurring, unlike in North American gray wolves, which have inherited the KB allele responsible for melanism from past interbreeding with dogs.

Its habits are similar to those of other grey wolf subspecies, though the Indian wolf generally lives in smaller packs rarely exceeding 6-8 individuals, and is relatively less vocal, having rarely been known to howl. Indian wolf vocalisation includes howls, howl-barks, whimper, social squeals, and whines with howls an average fundamental frequency of 422 Hz and whines 906 Hz. There is at least one record of a lone wolf associating with a pair of dholes in Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary. It tends to breed from mid-October to late December, and whelp in holes or ravines. It typically preys on antelopes, rodents, and hares. It usually hunts in pairs when targeting antelopes, with one wolf acting as a decoy while the other attacks from behind. The range of the Indian wolf overlaps with the golden jackal, sloth bear, leopard, Bengal fox, brown bear, Asiatic lion and Bengal tiger. But here in these stunning grasslands it is the apex predator along with the Striped Hyena. 

Indian wolves are nocturnal and hunt from dusk to dawn, using different strategies for their various prey animals. These wolves are said to be exceptional in speed and endurance - I experienced this for myself when I ran with this pair. An Indian wolf pack will spread themselves out when hunting Indian hares and various rodents, in contrast to coordinating when their target is the swift blackbuck antelope. The blackbuck is the major prey animal for wolves in Nannaj and Blackbuck National Parkand constitute up to 88% of Indian wolf biomass consumption. Because the antelope is faster, Indian wolves will usually chase it toward ravines, bushes or hollows, where more wolves wait in ambush. In addition to leading antelopes into an ambush, Indian wolves can chase blackbucks down hills for a short-term burst in speed. Indian wolves may also select a sick or injured animal and separate it from the herd, pursuing it to exhaustion. This strategy is commonly seen in gray wolves, and often proves successful. Finally, when they close the distance and attack, a single wolf would grab the snout to asphyxiate the antelope while others attack the rear. Indian wolves are also reported to use curiosity to lure antelopes in for a kill. One story remarks that a wolf rolled over, legs upright, when the blackbucks were feeding. When the antelope accidentally disturbed this wolf, two others sprung up for the kill. Here in these grasslands of Indapur and Baramati it is the Chinkara which is the favoured prey. In all my trips here I haven’t seen the Blackbuck - maybe they are there but not as much as the Chinkara for sure. 

The northern regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan are important strongholds for the wolf. It has been estimated that there are about 300 wolves in approximately 60,000 km² of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, and 50 more in Himachal Pradesh. Hindus traditionally considered the hunting of wolves, even dangerous ones, as taboo, for fear of causing a bad harvest. The Santhals - an Austroasiatic-speaking Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent - however, considered them fair game, as with every other forest-dwelling animal. During British India, wolves were not considered game species, and were killed primarily in response to them attacking game herds, livestock, and people. In 1876, in the North-West Provinces and Bihar State, 2,825 wolves were killed in response to 721 fatal attacks on humans. Two years later, 2,600 wolves were killed in response to attacks leaving 624 humans dead. By the 1920s, wolf extermination remained a priority in the NWP and Awadh. Overall, over 100,000 wolves were killed for bounties in British India between 1871 and 1916. In modern India, the Indian wolf is distributed across the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary in the state of Jharkhand is the only wolf sanctuary in the country. They are mainly found outside of protected reserves and feed mainly on livestock, such as goats or sheep. However, in areas where natural prey is still abundant, for example in Blackbuck National Park, Velavadar or Panna Tiger Reserve, natural prey species are still preferred. The Indian wolf is protected since 1972 and classified as Endangered, with many populations lingering in low numbers or living in areas increasingly used by humans. In March 2023, ten captive-bred wolves were released in Gujarat, a first for India.

Like the fox and the coyote, the Indian wolf has a reputation for being clever. There are many stories of their stratagems told by locals, observers and shepherds. The people of Maharashtra would sing labad landga dhong kartay, in Marathi which translates to "Wolves are clever animals and will fool you with their devilish methods."

Wolves are occasionally mentioned in Hindu mythology. In the Harivamsa, Krishna, to convince the people of Vraja to migrate to Vrindavan, creates hundreds of wolves from his hairs, which frighten the inhabitants of Vraja into making the journey. In the Rig Veda, Rijrsava is blinded by his father as punishment for having given 101 of his family's sheep to a she-wolf, who in turn prays to the Ashwins to restore his sight. Bhima, the voracious son of the god Vayu (God of Wind), is described as Vrikodara, meaning "wolf-stomached". Indian wolves also take a central role in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, in which a pack in the Seoni area of Madhya Pradesh adopts the feral child Mowgli, and teaches him how to survive in the jungle while protecting him from the Bengal tiger Shere Khan.

A citizen science initiative called Wild Canids–India Project is documenting wolves and other canids across the country while sharing relevant information about identifying them and understanding their world. Their objective is aimed at making ecological and conservation assessments of wild canids in India. ​The project focuses on eight species & sub-species of wild canids: dhole, golden jackal, Indian wolf, Tibetan wolf, Indian fox, red fox, desert fox and Tibetan fox. They have also included the Striped Hyena in the project because of its similarities with wild canids in aspects like natural history, ecological requirements and conservation issues. If you are interested in contributing to this project or learning more about the wolves and other canids, share details of your sightings with the project and read more about their conservation scorecards to gain a comprehensive overview of the species.

Follow them on their website and Instagram.

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