Chamarajanagar: For the first time, an Indian Grey Wolf has been ‘Camera Trapped’ in the Kothanur Range of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district.

The wolf was captured in the camera installed by a group of conservationists studying and camera-trapping leopards in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary on Apr. 7 early morning. 

The Indian Grey Wolf was documented by Sanjay Gubbi of Nature Conservation Foundation and his team while they were camera-trapping leopards. 

The study team consists of Sandesh Appu Naik, M.N. Girish, Gnanendra, H.C. Poornesha and others.

Speaking to ‘Star of Mysore,’ Sanjay Gubbi said that all four large canid species — Dhole, Indian Wolf, Jackal and Bengal Fox — have been spotted in Chamarajanagar district.

He said that Chamarajanagar is the only district where Tigers, Dholes and Wolves are found together and added that though these two animals are also found in Chikkamagalur district, they are not found together. While Tigers and Dholes are found in Madodi, wolves are found in Kadur.

Sanjay Gubbi said that in Karnataka, the wolf is found in isolated pockets in the drier areas, including Haveri, Koppal, Tumakuru, Raichur and Ballari and added that the Indian Grey Wolf is a highly endangered and threatened species which is mostly found in grasslands, scrub forests and rarely in dry deciduous forests.

Gubbi further said that though the species is distributed widely, it is threatened largely because of habitat loss and retaliatory killing and added that the population of Indian Wolf is said to be lower than that of tigers. They are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, he said.