DERA GHAZI KHAN: A schoolteacher’s concern for wildlife and timely action saved a pair of rare Indian wolves from being killed by a mob of villagers who considered the beasts a threat to their herds of goat and sheep.

According to locals, a couple of days ago a pair of rare Indian wolves killed a goat of a local herdsman near Jogiani and Makili villages near Choti Bala, a small town in arid zone of DG Khan, and dragged it close to their den.

Already fed up by such attacks on their herds, a mob of enraged villages started chasing the wolves and soon traced their footprints to their den.

The villagers plugged the den from all sides and were about to set fire to the den when a local schoolteacher, Ataullah, intervened and tried to stop them from killing the rare beasts. He also informed the local wildlife department of the situation.

Divisional wildlife department head Khursheed Alim Kaisrani told Dawn that on receiving the information an official team rushed to the spot where the wolves were besieged by the villagers.

He said the team rescued the wolves allowing them to escape into the arid zone.

He said the Indian wolves were on the verge of extinction because of expansion of agricultural activities, resulting in decline in forest area in the district.

He said the area lying between DG canal and foothills of mountain range was natural habitat of Indian wolves. These beasts were also becoming extinct because of their massive killing by trophy hunters, local herdsmen and farmers.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2015

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