Grey Wolf (Canis lupus), known as Bwasho in Nepali, belongs to order Carnivora and family Canidae. Globally it is native to Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uzbekistan and Yemen. Also it is native but possibly extinct from Bangladesh and extinct from Ireland, Japan and United Kingdom. In Nepal, this species is recorded from Annapurna Conservation Area, Dolpa, Manaslu Conservation Area, Kanchanjunga Conservation Area and Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve. The global population is estimated to be in the order of 200-250 thousands individuals. It is estimated that there may be as few as 30 to 50 individuals remaining in Nepal. It is listed as least concern species under IUCN red list category, but national red list of mammals categorizes it as a critically endangered species. The legal status of this species in Nepal is Protected (Appendix I) under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973. In CITES appendices the populations of this species from Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan are included in Appendix I and all other populations are included in Appendix II.
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