News Excerpt:

The Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco), a prominent lupine predator found across the Himalayas has been assessed for the first time in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List.

More about the news: 

• The Himalayan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco), has been categorized as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List. 
• Himalayan wolf is classified as Vulnerable under C2a(ii) based on population size estimate of 2,275-3,792 mature individuals based on best available data while also acknowledging uncertainty in this estimate.
• All individuals of the species were in one subpopulation stretching across the Himalayan range of Nepal and India and across the Tibetan Plateau.

Concerns For Himalayan Wolf: 

• In 2018, a study by a team of British and Nepalese researchers had confirmed that the Himalayan or Woolly wolf was a genetically unique clade/lineage/race of wolves, which had to be conserved before it went extinct.
• The IUCN Red List Assessment has also flagged ‘continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat’ of Himalayan wolves.
• Depredation conflict is a major conservation concern, given a seasonal or permanent high livestock abundance in wolf habitats that often form summer pasture land for livestock grazing. 
• Habitat modification and encroachment and depletion of wild prey populations are important drivers of this conflict.
• It highlighted that hybridisation with dogs was an emerging threat to the Himalayan wolf population in Ladakh and Spiti “where increasing populations of feral dogs pose a growing challenge”.
• The wolf is also illegally hunted for trade in its fur and body parts including paws, tongues, heads, and other parts. However, hunting of these wolves is not legal in all range states.

Himalayan Wolf In India:

• India has 227-378 mature individuals in its section of the Himalayas. 
• The Red List assessment based this on 378-630 total individuals estimated for the Indian Himalayas.
• The assessment noted that it includes only Ladakh and the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh. “Small area of wolf habitat is also available in Uttarakhand and Sikkim states of India, where a few more individuals could be present,

IUCN Red List Assessment suggested measures for the protection of Himalayan wolves:

• Securing and restoring healthy wild prey populations and landscapes and setting aside wildlife habitat refuges;
• Improving livestock guarding methods, such as predator-proof corral pens and using sustainable livestock herding practices, including reduced livestock loads, adapted herding, and developing novel but tradition-based holistic management practices.
• Management of feral dog populations

• Trans-boundary efforts in conservation of the species in range countries through research and monitoring.

• Incorporating the Himalayan Wolf in conservation programmes, which may assist with promoting public acceptance and reducing persecution.

• It also called for restoring healthy wild prey populations and improving herding/pasture management practices for Himalayan Wolf populations that are heavily dependent on livestock, like in Ladakh.
• Lastly, it called for incorporating the Himalayan Wolf in conservation programmes, which may assist with promoting public acceptance and reducing persecution.

Conclusion:

The Himalayan Wolf, assessed as 'Vulnerable' on the IUCN Red List, faces a critical situation with a dwindling population. Urgent conservation actions, such as securing prey populations, mitigating conflicts, and fostering trans-boundary efforts, are imperative to ensure the survival of this unique and genetically distinct wolf species.