Interview 8: Understanding the Himalayan Wolves with Geraldine Werhahn

Prowling the plains of the high Tibetan Platue is the Himalayan Wolf. Though considered a subspecies of the Gray Wolf, recent genetic studies have suggested that the Himalayan Wolf, is in fact a seperate species altogether. In fact, alongside the Indian Plains Wolf, the Himalayan Wolf is thought to be one of the oldest wolf lineages in the world.

Unfortunately, like the other large carnivores of the Himalayas, including the elusive snow leopard and critically endangered Himalayan Brown Bear, the wolf is facing countless threats. Not only is climtate change causing significant habitat loss in the Himalayas, overgrazing of nomadic livestock herds is putting immense pressure on local prey species. With grasslands and prey species dwindiling, human wolf conflict in unavoidable. Additionally, feral dog populations have surged across the range of the Himalayan wolf, increasing competition for resources, hybridization and the spread of diseases. 

There is one conservation biologists, however, who is working extensively to study these magnificent predators. Dr. Geraldine Werhahn is a Research Associate at University of Oxford's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. During her PHD, she set up the Himalayan Wolf Project to study these rare canids in Nepal. In this interview we speak about her work and the conservation of Himalayan wolves.

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