India, Oct. 12 -- In a first-ever global assessment, the Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), one of the most ancient and elusive wolf lineages in the world, has officially entered the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Threatened Species as 'Vulnerable', with only 2,877 to 3,310 mature individuals estimated to be surviving in the wild. The announcement was made on October 10 after an assessment done by Indian researchers was accepted by the IUCN.

The assessment, conducted between 2023 and 2024, represents the first formal IUCN evaluation of the Indian wolf. It was led by scientists across India, including Dr Shaheer Khan and Dr Bilal Habib of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with Dr ...