Palamu: The counting of wolves going to start next year in January in Jharkhand's Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary under Palamu Tiger Reserve.
Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary is the only Wolf Sanctuary in the state. Trap cameras have been installed in the Wolf Sanctuary spreading over 63 square kilometers of area. As every year, counting of wolves is being done and the officials are expecting a growth in count.
As per the data of the last counting, there are 150 wolves present in the sanctuary, while in India the count of wolves is around 3,000.
Mukesh Kumar, Deputy Director of Palamu Tiger Reserve, says that "there is an Indian Gray Wolf in the Wolf Sanctuary which is considered a rare species in the whole world. Steps have been taken for the protection of wolves here. Trap cameras have been installed for surveillance while 22 trackers have also been deployed to track the movement of wolves. And now we are witnessing a rise in the population of wolves."
Winters are the breeding season for wolves and keeping that in mind the forest department remains on alert to restrict the human movement in the area. Earlier, increasing human intervention has forced wolves to abandon their dens and breed elsewhere.
Boys from the nearby village and shepherds disturb the wolves by throwing fireballs at their dens, thereby disrupting the privacy that the wolves need for breeding.
Wildlife officials consider lockdown a major reason behind the growth of wolves population in the sanctuary as the lockdown has restricted the human movement to a great extent.
Wildlife expert D S Srivastav has urged the PTR authorities to save the wolf sanctuary from being encroached upon as land mafia is hyper-active in the region.
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