Deccan Plateau Scrub Ecology and Indian Wolf of Chitradurga

Chitradurga district's vast expanses of rocky granite inselbergs, thorn scrub, and dry grassland support a remarkable assemblage of wildlife adapted to semi-arid conditions. The Indian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) maintains small packs in these landscapes, hunting blackbuck, chinkara, and hares. The Great Indian Bustard, now critically endangered, historically inhabited the open grasslands of the Chitradurga plateau. Traditional pastoralist communities — Kuruba shepherds — who graze their flocks across these landscapes possess detailed knowledge of animal movement, plant phenology, and traditional practices of living alongside predators without lethal conflict. The rocky inselbergs support colonies of Indian Star Tortoise, and local communities have long maintained prohibitions on tortoise hunting.