page_title: Himalayan wolf
section_title: Distribution and habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Himalayan wolf / Distribution and habitat
caption_attribution_description: Striking contrast of blue sky, brown peaks and golden barley fields - Spiti at the end of summer
context_page_description: The Himalayan wolf is a canine of debated taxonomy. It is distinguished by its genetic markers, with mitochondrial DNA indicating that it is genetically basal to the Holarctic grey wolf, genetically the same wolf as the Tibetan wolf, and has an association with the African golden wolf. There are no striking morphological differences between the wolves from the Himalayas and those from Tibet. The Himalayan wolf lineage can be found living in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau predominantly above 4,000 metres in elevation because it has adapted to a low oxygen environment, compared with other wolves that are found only at lower elevations.
  Some authors have proposed the reclassification of this lineage as a separate species. In 2019, a workshop hosted by the IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group noted that the Himalayan wolf's distribution included the Himalayan range and the Tibetan Plateau. The group recommends that this wolf lineage be known as the "Himalayan wolf" and classified as Canis lupus chanco until a genetic analysis of the holotypes is available. The Himalayan wolf lacks a proper morphological analysis.
context_section_description: In China, the Himalayan wolf lives on the Tibetan Plateau in the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Tibet, and western Sichuan.
  In northern India, it occurs in the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir and in the Lahaul and Spiti region in northeastern Himachal Pradesh. In 2004, the Himalayan wolf population in India was estimated to consist of 350 individuals ranging across an area of about 70,000 km² (27,000 sq mi).
  Between 2005 and 2008, it was sighted in the alpine meadows above the tree line northeast of Nanda Devi National Park in Uttarakhand. In 2013, a wolf was photographed by a camera trap installed at an elevation of about 3,500 m (11,500 ft) near the Sunderdhunga Glacier in  Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district.
  In Nepal, it was recorded in Api Nampa Conservation Area, Upper Dolpa, Humla, Manaslu, Upper Mustang, and in Kanchenjunga Conservation Area. The Nepal Himalayas provide an important habitat refuge for the Himalayan wolf.
caption: Pin Valley National Park located in Himachal Pradesh
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