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An Indian Grey Wolf we saw in Velavadar National Park two weeks ago.
There were three wolves visible beside the wetland, spotted from a distance by our eagle-eyed guide Allarakha. Earlier in the day we had seen a single wolf resting in a meadow, surprisingly close to blackbuck and a nilgai (blue bull). Read the earlier post
Brother Wolf for an account of my wolf sighting in July. That was in a fairly remote area in the Little Rann of Kutch. Sadly one can spot Indian Grey Wolves only in remote or protected areas nowadays, because they are widely persecuted thanks to their predation on livestock. Since their wild grassland habitats are shrinking and wild prey becoming scarce, they have little option but to prey on domestic animals like goats, sheep and calves. And in retaliation they get killed. I can't resist posting this poem about a wolf, a lamb and a human, from "Archy and Mehitabel," one of my all-time favourite books. Brilliantly captures the irony and hypocrisy inherent in the human attitude to wolves. Hope you like the poem as much as I do.Velavadar National Park
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A surprise encounter with the Indian Grey Wolf, Canis lupus pallipes, last friday! This was my first wolf sighting, and it came when I was least expecting it. My friends and I were sitting beside a field, watching Coursers and other birds pecking in the soil. There was a goatherd with three goats some distance away. A shaggy black dog trotted past us and disappeared...And then about five minutes later, a wolf ran by on the far side of the field. At first I wondered what kind of dog it was and peered at it through my binoculars - but we realized immediately that that was no dog! Then the second wolf followed, glancing at us as it went. My camera was in the car, because it had been drizzling some time back, but luckily Sangeeta always has hers, and she's a really good photographer. She managed some shots before the wolves vanished. I've spent hours waiting to see wolves in three sanctuaries: Nannaj, the Little Rann and Velavadar, but this mysterious animal has always eluded me. Very disappointing for a canid-obsessed person like me. And then, just when I was least expecting to see them, not one but two ran by!
Although this region (the Little Rann of Kutch) is wolf habitat, we weren't really expecting to see them as this was not in a park or protected area, but in fields and pasture land. But then wolves here prey almost exclusively on livestock, since their natural wild prey have disappeared long ago. In fact our driver told us there used to be many more wolves earlier, but that they are regularly killed by the rabadis (shepherds).
I don't know the latest theories on dog evolution, but the Indian Grey Wolf has been considered a possible ancestor of the domestic dog Canis familiaris. Some scientists believe that dogs are probably not descended from wolves, but that both had a common ancestor, some canid that is now extinct. However, whether descendent or "cousin," dogs are undoubtedly very closely related to this magnificent and much-maligned animal.
Photos: Dr Sangeeta Dhanuka
Little Rann of Kutch
One of my favourite canids is the Australian Dingo, Canis lupus dingo, introduced there from Asia by human settlers perhaps 5000 years ago.
Like many other canids (wolves, coyotes and domestic species like our very own free-ranging INDog), the dingo lives in a cloud of controversy in its own land - viewed by many as an iconic animal of Australia and by others as a menace to be exterminated.
Luckily these beautiful animals have some strong support. Research has thrown new light on their behaviour and exposed some commonly held beliefs as myths. Click here for an interesting TV interview from last year, in which researcher Dr Brad Purcell explains why human intervention in the dingo pack structure actually leads to increased livestock predation. There are parallels in other countries with other species: misguided and ignorant interference in animal populations does much more harm than good.
More on this research project here.
Australian Dingos featured in this blog in March last year. Click here to see some very handsome specimens in a snowy landscape! The pictures were sent to me by Julie Fechner of Dingo Care Network. Their site is very informative for anyone interested in this topic: http://www.dingo.org.au
The Great Rann of Kutch is one of my favourite places in the world. Spectacular white salt marshes that resemble a lunar landscape, rare wild species, ruins of the Indus civilization...it's hard for me to describe this unique spot without sounding like a tourist brochure.And now Yashesh Shethia has made it even more interesting, with this amazing jackal story and pictures.On a recent road trip he and his wife came upon a temple in the Black Hills where there is an ancient tradition of feeding jackals. Every evening at sunset the priests give them "prasad" (food that has first been offered in worship).
Above: Jackals waiting to be fed.
For those interested in wildlife, jackals are classified as Canis Aureus and live on carrion among other things, though they also hunt small animals and poultry. The species is related to the domestic dog but is not its ancestor. However, jackals and domestic dogs can interbreed. 
Above: The tradition is explained on this board, along with the legend that when there was no food, the god Dattatreya offered the jackals a part of his body.Below: The priests are very humane, and they are equally kind to the jackal's domesticated cousin, the dog. This one is kept as a pet in the temple and is very popular with all the visitors there.
Below: This long-suffering mother and her pups were in Anjar
Below: Another dog in Anjar
Yashesh, thanks for these pictures. I now have yet another reason for running off to the Rann!Photos: Yashesh Shethia
Great Rann of Kutch
Gujarat
