Among the many representatives of the fauna listed in the Red Book due to the threat of extinction, the Red Wolf occupies a special place (lat. Cuon alpinus), in honor of which the ecological holiday is set for May 28.
This animal – is a representative of canids, living mainly in the mountainous regions of Central and South Asia, and is known by other names: Himalayan wolf, buanzu, mountain wolf. The red wolf can be found in several regions of India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Tibet and the Himalayas, Sumatra and Java.
Despite the fact that the red wolf is an excellent hunter, resilient, patient, and fearless, its numbers in the wild are constantly declining. Most zoologists agree that the main reasons for this are the decline in the number of wild artiodactyl animals as a result of human activity, manifested both in the displacement of animals from their usual habitats and poaching. These factors lead to a depletion of the food supply. Among other things, there are also frequent cases of poaching against the red wolf itself.
Gradually, more and more competition in the fight for the food supply is made up of the red wolf, its relative – is an ordinary wolf. Other risk factors, including infectious diseases, are less significant.
The Red Wolf is listed not only in the International Red Book, but also in the Red Book of Russia. On the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, the red wolf has practically disappeared.
There are 10 subspecies of the Red Wolf. Its appearance is seriously different from the image of an ordinary wolf familiar to most people. This animal absorbed the features of three representatives of the fauna at once: an ordinary wolf, a fox and a jackal. The reddish or reddish colour and length of the fluffy tail makes it look like a fox. The snout – is pointed and shorter than that of a wolf, and the ears are erect, tall, with rounded tips.
Unlike the gray wolf, the red wolf gives priority to puppies during the feeding process. These animals are incredibly sociable. They constantly make a variety of sounds, maintaining contact with their relatives. They live and hunt in flocks of 5-12 to 30 (rarely) individuals.
Red wolves hunt artiodactyl animals: roe deer, deer, argali, mountain goats, antelopes. The diet includes both small rodents and lizards. Among plant foods, red wolves prefer mountain rhubarb. Hunting is based on the pursuit and then eating the victim, the process of which is too cruel for many, since, unlike other predators, red wolves do not first strangle the victim, but actually tear it apart.
The writer R. also mentioned red wolves in his book. Kipling, calling them red dogs, which all residents of the jungle strive to avoid.
The desire to preserve the population of this endangered species led to its inclusion in the Red Book. Among the measures taken to preserve the Red Wolf population was the formation of nature reserves and national parks in places where representatives of this species were found.
Recently, the educational activities of the Charitable Organization Red Wolf Conservation Foundation have been gaining popularity, which declared May 28 Red Wolf Day, and calls on people to pay attention to this endangered species by publishing on their resources photographs and videos dedicated to the life of this interesting animal.