Kolkata: An Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) has reportedly been sighted for the first time in the Sunderbans, taking wildlife enthusiasts by surprise. This is the first photographic evidence of the animal in the entire Sunderbans spread over both India and Bangladesh, they claim.The sighting is significant since wolves in Bengal are mostly found in the western parts bordering Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. An endangered animal, the Indian wolf prefers to live in scrub lands, grasslands and semi-arid pastoral/ agricultural landscape. Less than 2,000 wolves are currently found in the forests of India.The animal was sighted by naturalist Riddhi Mukherjee during a photographic tour on April 14 at Jatirampur village in Pakhirala, just opposite the Sajnekhali wildlife sanctuary. "We sighted it for about 15 minutes before it vanished into the thickets," Mukherjee said.Sunderbans Tiger Reserve field director Nilanjan Mullick said there were camera traps in the area that could confirm the presence of the animal. "We can only comment about the species and its origin after seeing the photograph," he said, adding that presence of the Indian wolf has never been recorded in the Sunderbans.Chief wildlife warden Pradeep Vyas said he has seen Mukherjee's photograph, but would comment only after checking the camera trap images. "Wolves are usually found in a pack. This is a solitary animal. So, we have to investigate," he said.Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist Y V Jhala said the "facial markings show it's an adult wolf". "Since wolves can travel long distances, it's possible that this animal has probably dispersed from the western part of Bengal. Probably, there's a pack. It's a great sighting."State wildlife advisory board member Joydip Kundu, though, cautioned against creating euphoria. "It's a very important discovery, but we should not get carried away creating euphoria but focus on conservation of the species with locals."Sources said there have been reports of bird and cattle lifting from the fringe villages of Pakhirala, Ayenpur and Jatirampur over the past few says. Locals suspect the involvement of the photographed wolf behind this.Sources said rigorous experiment now needs to be carried out to find out whether the Sunderbans is a natural habitat for the particular animal or whether it is an introduced species.

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