By Mayuri Phadnis
Project Wolf by Wildlife Instt of India and forest dept will gather sounds of wolves to better chart the elusive carnivore’s population and habitat, aid conservation
Doffing a hat at the unique voice identity of every human, scientists in the state are now looking to replicate this phenomenon to better chart wolf populations, by identifying individual animals more effectively through the sounds they make. This new ‘howling survey’ will come under the conservation-driven Project Wolf of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Maharashtra forest department.
WII scientist Dr Bilal Habib said, “At present, we only have estimates of wolf numbers. Such a survey will help us get a better picture of the animal’s population.” He added that it is difficult to individually identify wolves, unlike tigers, which are distinguished on the basis of stripes patterns. Since wolves cannot be distinguished based on physical attributes, camera traps are not very helpful.
“Wolf packs roam in huge areas, even 200 sq kms. It is difficult to survey such zones in a day. People in different locations may spot the same pack, causing data overlap. This affects estimates,” said Habib.
Now, under the new survey, gathered howls will be collected and analysed, after which a basic data set will be created for further reference. Areas being covered include Pune, Daund, Solapur, Nagpur and more, to create as large a sample size as possible.
Wildlife enthusiasts from the city will also volunteer to help with field work. One such participant, Mihir Godbole, said, “Wolves are very shy animals and tend to avoid humans. Sightings are rare, making population estimation very challenging. This howling survey will help conservationists a great deal.”
Earlier this year, American researcher Lauren Hennelly had conducted a similar survey on Himalayan wolves and Indian Grassland wolves, under which data is currently being analysed. In an email reply to Mirror, Hennelly said, “Sometimes, wolf presence is difficult to detect, since their pugmarks and scat can be confused with that of dogs. Howl surveys are beneficial in detecting if wolves inhabit a specific area, especially since the grasslands of Pune are treeless, allowing sound to travel much further than in American forests, for example. This helps in conservation, as it clarifies their distribution across the landscape and identifies important areas, with the goal of protecting habitat. Unique howls help us comprehend how many individuals live in a pack, what wolf dispersal patterns are, and if there are puppies present — all crucial to the perception of wolf population dynamics.”
Project Wolf will also map den sites, distribution and more, considering that little is known about the animal at present.
Satyajeet Gujar, deputy conservator of forests (Pune), said, “Large carnivores like leopards and tigers are often in the spotlight, but small ones are not always given the same focus. Our whole effort to look at the population of wolves, jackals, foxes, etc. is to see whether they are increasing or decreasing, what the threats and issues are, etc. In fact, we have already put up camera traps and tagging mechanisms to track their movements and see if they are being hunted by other animals or poachers.”