Yes India too has it’s own version of wolves but unlike wolves who live in cold areas and look bigger due to winter coat they wear, India wolves do not have that winter coat (Except Himalayan and Tibetan wolves) due to living in warmer conditions in India. Most of the wolves found in India are grey wolves or peninsular Indian wolf. Himalayan wolves are low in number.
It’s sad that Indian grey wolves are now endangered species and there population is in between 2,000-3,000 (estimated)
Our movie industry has made this species look like the mythical creature of dark world who haul at full moon but it’s nothing like that they are not the creatures of dark world but our own world and they haul to locate their pack. Pack of wolves may be spread over 200 sq km in vast areas of grasslands and hauling helps them to find each other in open area.
India has 3 types of wolves
- Peninsular Indian wolf
- Himalayan wolf
- Tibetan wolf
Their diet includes small animals like rodents, rabbits, and raccoons. They hunt at night and their pack will be distributed and each one will hunt on their own. The hunting begins at night.
Himalayan or Tibetan wolf wolves are found the upper part of the country like Himachal Pradesh, Leh in kashmir and are considered to be
C. lupus chanco.
Other wolves found in other part of the country are peninsular wolves or grey wolves which are considered to be C. lupus pallipes.
Both of these wolves are in list of endangered species in India.