One of the most endangered wolf species could soon be bred because it is threatened with extinction due to interbreeding with stray dogs, experts in India warn.
The Indian gray wolf is considered one of the oldest species of gray wolf and their extinction would mean the loss of an important link in evolution.
In recent years, wolves have been in danger due to the increase in the population of stray dogs and the loss of their habitats, and India does not have a comprehensive conservation program for these top predators.
According to estimates, there are only about 3.000 gray wolves left in the wild in this Asian country, which means there are fewer than Bengal tigers.
However, wolves do not seem to attract the public attention that Bengal tigers and elephants do.
Now, some environmentalists and scientists are trying to change that.
Their research on wolves near the city of Pune in the western Indian state of Maharashtra draws attention to these predators.
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'Indian wolves could become extinct due to interbreeding with dogs'
Back in 2014, members of the Savannah Conservation Fund spotted an animal in the wild that looked quite strange.
"We weren't sure it was a wolf, even though she looked like one.
"It was not gray, but brown," they said.
Over the years, they spotted another such animal and set out to find more individuals.
After obtaining permission from the forest department, a team led by scientists collected hair and faeces samples from the animal, but it was not an easy task.
Mihir Godbole, founder and president of the Savannah Protection Fund, says that "tracking wolves is very challenging because they know people well and always outsmart us".
"But we followed the pack for days and found where they stay and when they leave that place.
"That way we were able to collect hair and excrement samples," he explained.
Genome sequencing showed that this was a wolf dog, a hybrid between a wolf and a domestic dog.
(They should not be confused with wolf dog breeds that are domesticated and have more than the usual wolf genes, but whose offspring for several generations are not wolf).
This research, conducted by three organizations - the Savannah Conservation Fund, the Ashoka Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Research and the National Center for Biological Sciences - was published in a scientific journal Ecology and Evolution.
Although hybrids of wolves and domestic dogs have been the subject of research in different parts of the world, this was the first real scientific study in India.
The existence of crossed individuals of the second generation, when a hybrid of a wolf and a domestic dog is crossed again with a wolf, has been proven.
Rulers of the Indian Savannas
Around the world, gray wolves live in different habitats such as savannahs, steppes, deserts, forests and even tundras.
In India, they inhabit thickets and savannahs near human settlements, villages and cities.
"The Indian savannah is a unique ecosystem that is home to antelopes, porcupines and birds such as the great Indian bustard, which is an endangered species.
"Wolves (are) top predators and are an important part of that system," explains Mihir.
There are two types of wolves in India: the Himalayan wolf (Canis himala-yensis) and the Indian gray wolf (Canis lupus pallipes).
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies them as an endangered species in some countries, and in India they are protected by the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
Both of these species are extremely significant because, according to previous research, they are among the oldest gray wolf species in the world.
It is estimated that the population of Indian gray wolves in the wild numbers from 2.000 to 3.000 individuals.
However, scientists say that the numbers cannot be trusted, because wolves are not counted the way tigers are counted.
In recent decades, human activities such as agriculture, grazing, garbage disposal, and urbanization have intensified in areas close to the Indian savannas.
Such human activities are followed by stray dogs, which leads to increased interaction with wolves.
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What does the research show?
"Dogs and wolves are genetically very close.
"Dogs are kind of domesticated wolves," says Abi Vanak, a biodiversity researcher at the Ashoka Foundation for Ecology and Environment Research.
"All over the world there are accidental crosses between wolf and dog.
"When the population of wolves in an area declines and they cannot find individuals to mate with, they often interbreed with dogs," they add.
There are also cases when people cross them, and in some places it is forbidden to keep such a hybrid as a pet.
A mix of a domestic wolf and a pet dog killed a three-month-old baby in the US state of Alabama in December 2023.
However, interbreeding in the wild poses a danger to wolves, as it may lead to their extinction as a genetically distinct species.
This is explained by Uma Ramakrishnan, a molecular biologist, environmentalist and professor at the National Center for Biological Sciences, whose laboratory performed the genome sequencing that confirmed the existence of the wolf dog in India.
"It's like having two pots of paint and you start mixing them.
"They will no longer be what they were. In a similar way, interbreeding dilutes the gene pool of a species.
"If one species has so many individuals, as there are so many dogs (strays) here, and another has few - like wolves, there is a possibility that dogs will dilute [the gene pool] and eventually eradicate wolves," he adds.
The population of stray dogs in India is huge - estimated to be between 35 and 63 million.
Experts say that the decline in the number of vultures, the largest vulture birds, is contributing to the increase in the population of stray dogs.
It is estimated that there are 179.000 street dogs in the city of Pune, and only 40 wolves in the district.
"Due to domestication, dogs lost many of their wolf characteristics - they became smaller in size, a little weaker.
"By interbreeding, wolves can take on some of those characteristics, which puts them in danger," adds Abi Vanak.
There is also a risk of diseases transmitted by dogs.
"Dogs can transmit viruses and diseases like rabies to wolves, which are so contagious that they could eliminate the entire wolf population in an area.
"Stray dogs also feed on small animals, which are extremely important for wolf nutrition," says Mihir Godbole.
Another study by his team shows that the increase in the leopard population is also disrupting the ecological balance in the savannah.
However, despite all this, there are still no significant efforts to protect wolves.
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Protection of wolves and preservation of savannah
"We have to think about protecting wolves, but not in the way we protect tigers.
"We cannot create protected areas for this species, because they occur in a mixed-use landscape and often depend on livestock that prey on them.
"So pastoral communities and different stakeholders have to be taken into account," says Abi Vanak.
The Fund for Savannah Protection is now working on a pilot project involving local villagers and stakeholders, whose goal is to restore the savannah and its wildlife.
They have submitted a proposal to the state Ministry of Forestry that contains a plan to start a wolf protection program, and are awaiting approval.
Uma says the research has opened up new questions.
"The bigger challenge is how to classify a wolf dog? Is it protected by the Wildlife Protection Act?
"How to proceed? These are not only ethical, but also ecological and biological issues".
Genetic signatures help us understand what's happening to a species in a particular area, and scientists can make recommendations based on that, she says.
"When we think about evolution, we think about the past.
"But evolution will also happen in the future.
"Do we humans significantly influence the evolution of a particular species?"
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