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Wolves often get a bad press in folklore, mythology and religion, where they are typically tarred with demonic traits, although saluted for more desirable characteristics such as strength and loyalty, within indigenous and more nomadic and agrarian societies, as the Wolves Live website details. But in the Bankapur Wolf Sanctuary in the Koppal district, the first such sanctuary in the state of Karnataka, Southwest India, Indian gray wolves, a critically endangered species, are protected and celebrated.
Here, in what is only the second Indian animal sanctuary caring for wolves to be established in this vast country, the strides made were cemented by the arrival of eight pups at the start of 2025, reported The Hindu.
This was followed in February 2025, by the announcement of the births of another five gray wolf pups at the same sanctuary, the Hindustan Times details.
Giving Indian Gray Wolves a Head Start
The Indian gray wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), Drishtiias reports, is a subspecies of gray wolf found across the Indian Subcontinent, and Southwest Asia. It is nocturnal, living in smaller packs, and preferring arid shrubland and grassland habitats in warmer climates. It is an apex predator, one that exists at the very top of the food chain, and so is never preyed upon itself.
In recent decades, populations of Indian gray wolves have been dwindling at alarming rates. It is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and also has a CITIES protection status of Appendix 1, meaning it is categorized as among the species that are most endangered among CITIES-listed animals and plants. It has a total estimated population in India of just 2,000-3,000 individuals.
These recent births, therefore, represent a positive development for wildlife conservation.
The 820-acre Bankapur Wolf Sanctuary comprises shrub forests, hills, and natural caves. Established in 2021, its terrain provides an ideal environment for wolves, including wolf populations outside the sanctuary’s boundaries.
Conservationists also point to the region’s natural prey base of livestock, and a high density of small mammals, as representing a steady food source.
Tributes From Conservationists
The sanctuary’s achievements have been praised by conservationists from around India and the world.
Announcing the birth of the pups, swelling the total of wolves at the sanctuary to some 35-40 wolves, Indian Environment Minister, Eshwar Khandre, lauded the new arrivals, paying credit too to the Karnataka Forest Department as reported in The Hindu: “The sanctuary hosts the Indian grey wolf species, and one of the wolves recently gave birth to eight pups. Typically, only 50% of the wolf pups survive, but forest officials have taken measures to ensure the safety of all the pups [from human disturbance],” he pointed out.
He also observed, as reported in Hindustan Times, that the gray wolf conservation strategies in place are finally bearing fruit, seeing similar progress to those boosting the local populations of tigers, elephants and leopards.
Additionally, the area was designated an eco-sensitive zone at a subcommittee chaired by Khandre, on January 18, 2025. The longer-term vision is to respectfully create a wildlife tourism destination with a study into the feasibility of establishing a safari park already underway.
Incidentally, the sanctuary is a place that numerous other wildlife species also call home. These include leopards, peacocks, foxes, hares, and porcupines.
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