After Bengal’s coal belt, wolves clicked in rice bowl
Times of India | 26 November 2025
Kolkata: After Bengal's coal-industrial belt of West Burdwan's Durgapur, wolves have been spotted in Bengal's rice bowl — East Burdwan.
An ongoing camera trap-study on the presence and distribution of wolves in East Burdwan has unearthed the presence of a pack of 12-15 animals. An earlier camera trap-study, from 2023 to 2024, found three packs near Durgapur, each with not more than six wolves.
"This is the first scientific ecological study on Indian grey wolves in East Burdwan. The habitat here is very different from the industrialised and mining-dominated landscape of West Burdwan. Based on initial sign surveys and forest department records, the preferred wolf habitat in East Burdwan is currently estimated to be 500 sqkm. The district is spread across 5,600 sqkm," said Arkajyoti Mukherjee of Wildlife Information and Nature Guide Society (WINGS), the principal investigator of the study.
WINGS is conducting the study, supported by Wildlife Conservation Trust BEES Grant. The study covers 45 locations and involves the use of 13 cameras.
Divisional forest officer, Burdwan division, Sanchita Sharma said: "The wolves near the industrial town of Durgapur are considered ‘urban' wolves. The habitat in East Burdwan is better as it has a good forest cover. So naturally, in the first two months of the study, 12-15 wolves have been spotted, higher than West Burdwan," she said.
Sudip Banerjee, range officer, Durgapur, said their aim was to identify the wolves' behavioural traits, movement pattern and prey base.
Field expert Baharuddin Sk, associated with the project, said the study area in East Burdwan is divided into 16 sqkm grids, each further split into four 4 sqkm sub-grids to allow fine-scale sampling.
"To understand wolf distribution across the landscape, the study uses sign surveys, questionnaire-based surveys (involving residents) and camera-trap monitoring. These approaches together provide a comprehensive picture of wolf presence, habitat use and movement patterns in the study area," he said.
Earlier, a study had mapped the presence of at least 30 wolves in four packs, using the corridors connecting West and East Burdwan.
"This project aims to build a baseline understanding of Indian grey wolves in East Burdwan, including their distribution, habitat use and ecological needs. A key component is to identify priority conservation areas within the district to guide future protection efforts. The focus is on both population understanding and landscape-level ecological assessment," said field expert Nayan Kumar, also involved in the project.
Key forest habitats for wolves identified so far in East Burdwan are Debshala, Pratappur, Ausgram and Valki, said WINGS member Anirban Banerjee.
Other field experts associated with the study are Manish Kumar Chattopadhyay, Gourangi Raghav and Sagar Adhurya.