Roaming the very wild and remote wilderness of the Himalayan Mountains is a little known wolf. The Himalayan Wolf was until recently one of the least known animals to humans. There are currently only about 300 of these small and light colored wolves left on the planet.
Until the last century the Himalayan Wolf was thought to be a subspecies of the gray wolf called the Tibetan Wolf. However, it was recently discovered that the Gray Wolf is the direct ancestor of the dog. In contrast the Himalayan Wolf is distinctly genetically different from the dog. Therefore in 2009, the Latin binom Canis Himalayensis was proposed as the classification for the Himalayan Wolf.
Another break through study in 2004 revealed that this wolf might just be the most ancient representative of all the animals anywhere in the world. The analysis done from one of the wolves from it's genetic material showed that its lineage stems back around 800,000 years. To lose an animal this valuable would be such a tragedy to our world.
Despite all these revelations about this ancient species of wolf, they have not gotten the protection that they desperately need. This wolf is on the verge of extinction and the number of 300 wolves is just a guesstimate since the last known count was taken in 1995. In 1998, the Indian govt. did add this wolf to the Endangered Species List but it still lacks the global conservation attention that is needed to keep this wolf from becoming extinct.
India is basically acting on it's own to preserve the Himalayan Wolf. It has set up a captive wolf breeding program that currently has only about 30 wolves in it.
But there are two major threats that continue to bear down on this vulnerable wolf species. The first and foremost is the human factor. The local people in the region continue to persecute and kill this wolf because they sometimes prey on their livestock. Although they are legally protected in India, they are not in Tibet even though most of it's other charismatic vertebrates are under it's protection.
The second major threat to the Himalayan Wolf is global warming and climate change. Because of this, the glaciers are being reduced and the temperature is rising. To make matters worse, the remote wilderness is also being disrupted by human activities and pollution which also threaten the existence of the wolves.
Unless some action is taken soon by world conservation groups and governments to protect this rare wolf, it will soon be gone from the earth. It has been proven that all wolves play an important role in the health of an ecosystem. The loss of this wolf species would have a very dramatic and negative impact on the other animals and plants in that environment. Urgent action is needed to make sure the Himalayan Wolf is with us forever.
SIGN PETITION : Save Himalayan Wolf LINK
The wilderness of the Himalayan range is home to some critically endangered species of the planet. One of them is the less known but gorgeous Himalayan Wolf. This beautiful animal was one of the least known animal to the humans, till some studies have been done very recently. These studies have revealed many intertesting facts about this animal which was unknown to science for years. Unfortunately this rare animal is surviving in few hundreds only in the wild and need quick attention to save them from extinction.
Until the last century the Himalayan Wolf was thought to be a subspecies of the gray wolf called the Tibetan Wolf. However, it was recently discovered that the Gray Wolf is the direct ancestor of the dog. In contrast the Himalayan Wolf is distinctly genetically different from the dog. Therefore in 2009, the Latin binom Canis Himalayensis was proposed as the classification for the Himalayan Wolf.
Another break through study in 2004 revealed that this wolf might just be the most ancient representative of all the animals anywhere in the world. The analysis done from one of the wolves from it's genetic material showed that its lineage stems back around 800,000 years. To lose an animal this valuable would be such a tragedy to our world.
Despite all these revelations about this ancient species of wolf, they have not gotten the protection that they desperately need. This wolf is on the verge of extinction and the number of 300 wolves is just a guesstimate since the last known count was taken in 1995. In 1998, the Indian govt. did add this wolf to the Endangered Species List but it still lacks the global conservation attention that is needed to keep this wolf from becoming extinct.
India is basically acting on it's own to preserve the Himalayan Wolf. It has set up a captive wolf breeding program that currently has only about 30 wolves in it.
But there are two major threats that continue to bear down on this vulnerable wolf species. The first and foremost is the human factor. The local people in the region continue to persecute and kill this wolf because they sometimes prey on their livestock. Although they are legally protected in India, they are not in Tibet even though most of it's other charismatic vertebrates are under it's protection.
The second major threat to the Himalayan Wolf is global warming and climate change. Because of this, the glaciers are being reduced and the temperature is rising. To make matters worse, the remote wilderness is also being disrupted by human activities and pollution which also threaten the existence of the wolves.
Unless some action is taken soon by world conservation groups and governments to protect this rare wolf, it will soon be gone from the earth. It has been proven that all wolves play an important role in the health of an ecosystem. The loss of this wolf species would have a very dramatic and negative impact on the other animals and plants in that environment. Urgent action is needed to make sure the Himalayan Wolf is with us forever.
Photo Credit sir_watkyn
SIGN PETITION : Save Himalayan Wolf LINK
The wilderness of the Himalayan range is home to some critically endangered species of the planet. One of them is the less known but gorgeous Himalayan Wolf. This beautiful animal was one of the least known animal to the humans, till some studies have been done very recently. These studies have revealed many intertesting facts about this animal which was unknown to science for years. Unfortunately this rare animal is surviving in few hundreds only in the wild and need quick attention to save them from extinction.
Video : Himalayan Wolf
Thank you for an interesting article of another wolf critically endangered! Of course it would be a great lost to loose this wolf too! as has been done to others...and also is happening to wolves all over if we do not act and sign petitions and speak of how we feel about it..Signed and hope that with others doing so too, we can save this beautiful wolf ! Beautiful photo and video! Thank you for caring about all wolves and creatures!
isn't it interesting, what man can't exploit he wants to kill it...
Necessary to help these wolves.
Please lets all help
Global warming...seriously?
This is downright scary......
Incredibly useful content. I’ve discovered your blog via Bing and I’m truly glad in regards to the data you present in your blog posts. Btw your websites design is quite damaged with the Chrome web browser. Can be seriously great if you ever may correct that. Anyhow keep in the good effort!
Signed petition and will share link. Thank you, White Wolf, for everything you do for Canis lupus!!! <3
Signed this petition... Thank you!
Please help save these wolves...our creator didn't putthem here 4 them 2 become extinct....! we have 2 speak out 4 them and save them...they cant do it themselves...
save the animals for the next generation
Himilayan Wolf
take it seriously!!
I first saw them on the seies "Planet Earth". What a facinating species to survive high in the Himalayas. Lets save them!!!!!!!
U guys r idiots wolves kill people and kill.all of the elk i will lath my ass of wen one of you treehugging basterds get killed by one
I agree
They will kill people and u hope you understand they are not nice
Himalayan wolves u idiot not Idaho wolves Himalayan wolves belong ther unlike Idaho they kill every thing and don't belong.there
Im doing the Himalayan Wolf for my science project and all you idiots who thinks these animals are stupid and useless and think that they don't belong on this Earth then you've got another thing coming with out wolves at all how would we feed vultures or get rid of all the little rodents? There not just a stupid animal and there smarter then they look. For all you idiots who thinks these animals are stupid i would love to see you survive the rest of your lives in the himalayan mountains. Have fun up there! oh and by the way I'm only 12 and i can see how useful and smart these beautiful creatures are.
U guys r idiots wolves kill people and kill.all of the elk i will lath my ass of wen one of you treehugging basterds get killed by one
You are a frikin idiot. Wolves don't touch people, they are shy. If we don't save them, we will lose such a beautiful animal. Also, without wolves, we wouldn't have dogs.
doing report on this and info is very helpful
Thanks for the rare info on this very rare animal.
Sadly, the Himalayan Wolf is not the only wolf that is going to vanish. Indian Wolf, from which the Himlayan split ab. 400 000 yrs ago, is endangered too. In Ethiopia there lives an extremely rare and beautiful Ethiopian Wolf, with its population of 500 only.
Wolves are important part of eco-system. This can be seen in many parts of North-America, where the Greywolf was widely mass-killed and the coyote and other smaller beasts have multiplied and even taken the place as the top-predator. Also in Britain, the fox took the same status.
I wish You could remoe / edit the "trash letters" a bit, the "b***" and "i***" don't look good in Your blog when written so many times. Thanks
the himalyan wolves are beutiful animals and need to be protected
I love wolves of all species, so losing this wolf is like losing another fav. If this keeps continuing we might not have any wolves of any type
what color is there fur
great info, i would love to see this spiecies not endangered,go india!
waav great work... yeah wolfs are also my favourite and i dont wnt remember them as history.....
wolves are my favorite animal.
An amazing tribute to the white wolf!
What will we do when they become extinct??
The wolf is crucial for ecosystems to thrive! Watch the video on how wolfs changed yellowstone!