A new study has stated that about half of the diet of both wolf subspecies found in India — the woolly or Himalayan wolf and the Indian wolf — is made up of domestic lifestock.
The woolly wolf and The Indian wolf
- The woolly wolf is heavily dependent upon the domestic prey items in the Himalayan region. Livestock such as yak, Dzo cow, goat and sheep were the most consumed mammals in its diet, compared to sparsely distributed wild prey.
- The woolly wolf’s diet consisted of 20 different food items including small birds, reptiles to large mammals and domestic animals such as cattle and yak.
- The Indian wolf primarily preyed upon medium-sized mammals relating to the availability of blackbuck, chinkara, and especially livestock such as sheep and goat.
- The Indian wolf-bearing states (Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana) have the highest goat and sheep population.
- The home range of the woolly wolf, found in the trans-Himalayas, is eight times larger than that of the Indian wolf, found in peninsular India.
- The recent study found no differences in the howling parameters of these subspecies.
- It also found that the skull of the woolly wolf was significantly longer and broader than the Indian wolf.
(Source: DTE)
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