Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus) in Asia - Ecology, Behavior & Conservation

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Gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Bangladesh


Gray wolves have been considered regionally extinct in Bangladesh. However, in 2019, an adult male was killed due to livestock depredation.

On the reappearance of the Indian grey wolf in Bangladesh after 70 years: what do we know? LINK

Abstract

The Indian grey wolf, Canis lupus pallipes Sykes, 1831, is a small, cryptic subspecies and the only wolf living in arid plains and deserts of the Indian subcontinent. Since 1950, it has been considered extinct beyond 88° east longitude. Herein, we report an instance from Bangladesh after 70 years. A solitary male of C. l. pallipes was killed in retaliation in June 2019 as livestock predation events erupted and lasted for a month after a severe cyclone had swept coastal Bangladesh. The specimen was about 119 cm from nose to tail tip with a skull length of 26.23 cm. Two molecular markers, mt D-loop control region and 16S rRNA, and 54 cranial parameters consolidated the identity. Bayesian inference and maximum-likelihood analyses indicated its intraspecies position. The locality of conflict, 450 km eastward of the easternmost population of C. l. pallipes, is adjacent to the Sundarbans in the Ganges estuary that presents formidable tidal rivers as dispersal barriers. In 2017, another wolf was sighted from the Indian Sundarbans vicinity. The present incident and the sighting of 2017 remarkably appeared from the farthest corners of a 10,000 km2 strong mangrove network that is rimmed by dense human settlements. The records surmise about the most challenging wolf dispersal route ever recorded. Additionally, the south-central coasts of Bangladesh, once home to wolves, bear old planted mangroves with open dunes but never surveyed for mammals. These facts necessitate a systematic camera-trapping in the coastal mangroves of Bangladesh exclusively intended for wolves.

Description of the distribution of wolves in Bengal region (both India and present Bangladesh):

"The extant range for the Indian wolf, though patchy and fragmented, goes from the Peninsular India to the Arabian deserts (Jhala 2003). However, it is not known beyond 88° east longitude, except for a recent sighting from a Sundarbans outskirt in the state of West Bengal, India (Mukherjee 2017) (Fig. 1a). Northerly, the subspecies is now contained by the Ganges River in the state of Bihar, India (Dey et al. 2010; Sharma et al. 2019) (Fig. 1a). Anecdotes on C. l. pallipes from the historic region of Bengal, now succeeded by the state of West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh, went back to the 1950s (Fig. 1a). Through accounts of Hunter (1876a,b,c), Simson (1886), and O’Malley (1914, 1923), the historic eastern limit of wolves in the Indian subcontinent appeared to be the entire south-central and western Bengal (Fig. 1a). Hunter (1876c) also noted wolves from Darjeeling, a northern hilly region of West Bengal (Fig. 1a); however, whether these wolves were plainland (C. l. pallipes) or hilly subspecies (C. l. chanco) was not mentioned. Mitra (1957) noted a predation event of wolf killing a man around 1940s from the coastal grasslands of Noakhali, south-central Bangladesh (Fig. 1a). O’Malley (1914,1923) mentioned wolf from the districts of Noakhali and Pabna of Bangladesh as well as from Murshidabad, Malda, and Dinajpur—districts which are now part of India (Hunter 1876a,b) (Fig. 1a). These regions lie along the Ganges River and rich in riverine open country and grassland mosaics (IUCN Bangladesh 2015) similar to current range areas of the Indian wolves. However, long before the independence of Bangladesh, wolf is regarded as an extirpated species in the eastern Bengal (Khan 2015, 2018), although any exclusive survey has never been undertaken."

"This work proved the appearance of the Indian grey wolf in Bangladesh after 70 years. Craniometric measurements are also provided for the first time from the entire Indian Subcontinent. Its phylogenetic position is also examined. Finally, the possible reasons causing its appearance in the country are discussed."

Map showing historical records of wolves in the Bengal region

[Fig. 1 Occurrence of the Indian grey wolf Canis lupus pallipes in its eastern limit (a) and the Sundarbans forest peripheries (b). Black dashed line marks historical easternmost limit of the species after Simson (1886). Green-shaded areas denote forest cover. Light grey areas denote the historic region of Bengal, now succeeded by the state of West Bengal, India, and Bangladesh. Dark grey area denotes the district of Barguna. Inset shows the region within the Indian subcontinent]

*This image is copyright of its original author

Description of the skull of the killed wolf

[Fig. 3 Skull of the Indian grey wolf Canis lupus pallipes reported in this article. Cranium: dorsal view (a), frontal view (b), palatal view ©, nuchal view (d), lateral view from right (e), and lateral view from left (f). Mandible: dorsal view (g), frontal view (h), lateral view from right (i) and lateral view from left (j). Ak akrokranion, An angular process, Au auditory bulla, B basion, C canine, Co condyle, Cr coronoid process, Ent enterorbitale (interorbital), F frontal, N nasion, I incisor, J jugal, M molar, Mx Maxilla, O occipital condyle, P premolar, Pr prosthion, Pt parietal, Rh rhinion, S synsphenion, Sm squamosal, Sc sagittal crest, St staphylion, Z zygomatic arch of squamosal. Numeric placed against the corresponding tooth denotes their corresponding number in the order of appearance. Reddashed circles denote anomalies and blunt traumas]

*This image is copyright of its original author

Conclusion: The possibility of wolves, even in very small numbers, existing Bangladesh cannot be overthrown.

"In conclusion, we do not overthrow the possibility of long-ranging dispersal behavior of wolves. Given the geographical features of the region, cryptic nature of the species, and pattern of the occurring incidents, we, through this note on the Indian wolf sighting in Bangladesh after 70 years, strongly advise a systematic camera-trapping study in the coastal mangroves as well as along their peripheries."

The image of the killed wolf. Readers please read this Mongabay article: The wolf of Bangladesh: A true story. The images are from there.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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