Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary is a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

located in

Latehar district Latehar district is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand state in eastern India, and Latehar town is the administrative headquarters of this district. This district is part of Palamu division. Latehar district is situated on longitude 84° ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

. It is part of

Palamau Tiger Reserve The Palamau Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in India and the only one in the state of Jharkhand. It covers a total area of in the Palamu, Latehar and Garhwa districts. It comprises the Betla National Park. It is one of the first nine tiger ...

. It was declared to be a wildlife sanctuary in 1976 for the protection of the

Indian wolf The Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') is a subspecies of gray wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant wint ...

Geography

Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary is located in

. In 1976, the sanctuary was declared a wolf sanctuary for the protection of the Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') population. It is part of

. It is spread over approx. 63 square kilometres.

Wildlife

The sanctuary is home to many species of wild animals including

spotted deer The chital or cheetal (''Axis axis''; ), also called spotted deer, chital deer and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, mal ...

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

hyena Hyenas or hyaenas ( ; from Ancient Greek , ) are feliform carnivoran mammals belonging to the family Hyaenidae (). With just four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the order Carnivora and one of the sma ...

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

and

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

. There are large numbers of wolf dens in the park, where the packs nest and rear their young, and where males court females during the breeding season, between November and February. According to the first count in 1979, there were 49 wolves in the sanctuary. In 2009, there were 58 wolves counted in the sanctuary. There were 120 wolves in 2020. According to survey of wild life Institute in 2024, there were four packs and 70 wolves in the sanctuary.

References

Wildlife sanctuaries in Jharkhand Latehar district Chota Nagpur dry deciduous forests {{India-protected-area-stub