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

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(09-02-2024, 12:14 PM)TheHyenid76 Wrote: Scientific literature on predation biology of wolves in two Asian range countries

Predation by grey wolf on wild ungulates and livestock in central Iran LINK

Abstract 

The grey wolf Canis lupus has the largest geographical range of large mammalian carnivores in west Asia. However, it is one of the least studied species, particularly in Iran. Feeding ecology is a critical aspect of predator ecology and has important implications when formulating species and ecosystem management strategies. Also, predation on livestock is a crucial cause of wolf–human conflicts throughout the wolf’s global range. Accordingly, we investigated the diet of the grey wolf in Ghamishlou, an area with high population densities of wild and domestic ungulates in central Iran, between July 2007 and April 2009. Scat analysis indicated that livestock was the single most important prey species for wolves with 47.1% of total biomass consumed, whereas Persian gazelle comprised 27.0% and wild sheep 15.9%. Wild kills were significantly skewed towards males relative to their proportion in the population, and were mainly preyed on during post-rutting months. Based on interview surveys, less than 1% of mean herd size was lost to wolf depredation; however, almost six times more died from non-depredation causes during each winter. We concluded that the high occurrence of livestock in the wolves’ diet is mainly because of scavenging rather than depredation; however, owing to high pressure of wolves on local herds during non-winter seasons in other areas with depleted prey populations, local people dislike wolves and try to eradicate them. Finally, management implications are discussed and solutions are recommended.

Key information from this paper:

Wolves' primary prey were wolves and domestic ungulates. Wolves preyed upon a lot of livestock despite the abundance of wild prey. Gazelle and wild sheep were the primary wild prey animals.

"Our study revealed that wolves in Ghamishlou primarily prey on wild and domestic ungulates as has been shown in many other areas of their geographical distribution (Jedrzejewski et al., 2000; Mech & Boitani, 2003; Jethva & Jhala, 2004; Gazzola et al., 2005; Barja, 2009). However, although wild ungulates were abundant, livestock was consumed at a much higher rate than we had expected based on previous literature (Capitani et al., 2004; Jethva & Jhala, 2004; Nowak et al., 2005). In the meantime, despite our caution in trying to avoid confusing wolf and dog scats, it is always possible that a proportion of our scat samples belonged to dogs which sometimes feed on carrions, thus leading to an overestimate of the proportion of domestic livestock in the wolf’s diet."

"Gazelle and wild sheep provide most wild ungulate prey with very few Persian wild goat. This reflects primarily the availability of these prey species to wolves in Ghamishlou, both in terms of abundance and habitat. It has been reported that the wolves rarely go for mountain ungulates when alternative sympatric plains ungulates are easily available (Huggard, 1993; Gazzola et al., 2005)."

Wolves (in many parts of their range) can be wrongly be blamed for livestock deaths. In this study, economic loss from wolf predation was 6 TIMES LESS than loss from other causes. High amount of livestock in wolf scats may be from scavenging.

"Mean number of livestock predated per each herder during each winter never exceeded 1% of average herd size. Such predation events result in a mean economic loss of about 4 730 000 Rial (US$ 472) for each herder during two grazing seasons in Ghamishlou. In contrast, local people lose almost 28 112 000 Rial (US$ 2810) per capita due to non-predation losses. Therefore, various other factors led to livestock losses almost six times more than those from wolf depredation in Ghamishlou during two winter seasons. The high proportion of livestock in wolf scats may reflect scavenging as well as predation, especially given that disease was an important mortality factor in local herds."

[Ghamishlou Wildlife Refuge surrounds three patches of the National Park (NP). Livestock grazing is allowed only within non-NP parts of the Wildlife Refuge.]

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[Percentage occurrence of different food items extracted from wolf scats in Ghamishlou, 2008–2009.]

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[Relative biomass of prey consumed by wolves in Ghamishlou.]

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A Note on the Diet of Indian Wolf (Canis lupus) in Baltistan, Pakistan LINK

Abstract

Ten scats of Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) from Baltistan were analyzed on the basis of hair reference key of local wild and domestic mammals. Four species of domestic ungulates, one species of wild ungulate and one species of small mammals were found with a frequency of: domestic sheep, 6.25%, domestic
goat, 25%; cow, 6.25%; yak, 12.5%; Himalayan ibex, 6.25% and marmot, 6.25%. Plant material was observed with a frequency of 12.5%. In terms of biomass, domestic livestock contributed 90.7%, while the rest 9.3% came from Himalayan ibex and marmot.

Important information from this paper:

Wolves have a very varied diet from small mammals to large prey like horses. Wolf predation on livestock are one of the key drivers of human-wolf conflict.

• "Wolf predation on wild and domestic animals disturbs the economy of rural areas and is the main cause of conflict between humans and wolves. The diet of wolves comes from diverse sources including small poultry to horses. The wild and domestic ungulates constitute the main prey of wolves. Depending on the local availability, wolves mainly prey on middle-sized wild ungulates (Jędrzejewski et al., 1992). In the absence of or near non-availability of wild ungulates, domestic livestock serve as the main diet."
  

In Baltistan (this study), wolves preyed heavily on livestock. This can be extremely dangerous for the wolves, as local herders may ruthless hunt them down to protect their livestock.

• "The most preferred food item of Indian wolf in Baltistan areas was yak followed by domestic goat and cattle. The results of this study showed that 90.7% of the diet of Indian wolf in terms of biomass came from the domestic livestock. Roberts (1997) reported that wolves on getting opportunity feed on domestic goats and sheep and in retaliation hunted ruthlessly in all the northern mountainous region of Pakistan. Indian wolves together with snow leopards, another major carnivore species of the study area, set a pattern of livestock depredation. In future, the survival of this carnivore species can be threatened by the local herders."
  

High dependence on livestock shows that no. of wild prey for wolves is dangerously low. Scientific management of wild ungulates and predators is crucial to save wild carnivores especially the Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) in Pakistan.

"The study rings an alarm bell. Heavy dependence on the domestic livestock shows that the prey base for wolf is extremely rare. This calls for action by the concerned authorities to take measures to develop wild ungulate populations to minimize dependence of wolf on domestic livestock. In view of the local threatened status of wolf in Pakistan it gets all the more important to properly manage the wild ungulate and predator populations to help conserve the population of wild carnivores in general and that of Indian wolf in particular."

[Frequency of occurrence of the remnants of prey species in the scats (n=10) of the Indian wolf collected from Baltistan, Pakistan]

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Key information derived from this post:

• Wolves have an extremely varied diet to their vast geographic range
• Wolves prey on diverse prey as small as rats to large ungulates like yak and horses
• Wolves prey on livestock and it can make up the majority of their diet in some range areas
• Due to livestock predation, wolves may be ruthlessly hunted by local herders
• Livestock depredation can cause economic losses to farmers which causes them to hate wolves
• Wolves have been extirpated from many range areas (including parts of Pakistan) due to livestock predation and other reasons
• Livestock depredation is one of the key causes of human-wolf conflict and human-large carnivore conflict in general
• Amount of livestock in wolf diets may be overestimated due to scavenging
  

Footage of wolves in both of the range countries discussed (Iran & Pakistan)

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