the few wolves remaining in Syria. A small wolf population occurs in the Golan Heights, and is well protected by the military activities there. Although Turkish wolves have no legal protection, they may number about 7,000 individuals. Little is known of current wolf populations in Iran, which once occurred throughout the country in low densities during the mid-1970s. Although widespread throughout the country, being absent only in the central desert and Dasht-e Lut, there is no reliable estimation on the wolf's population size there. Wolves in Iran continue to suffer from habitat loss, unregulated hunting and loss of prey. Indian subcontinent The northern regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan are important strongholds for the wolf. It has been estimated that there are about 300 wolves in approximately of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, and 50 more in Himachal Pradesh. Hindus traditionally considered the hunting of wolves, even dangerous ones, as taboo, for fear of causing a bad harvest. The Santals, however, considered them fair game, as with every other forest-dwelling animal. During British India, wolves were not considered game species, and were killed primarily in response to them attacking game herds, livestock, and people. In 1876, in the North-West Provinces and Bihar State, 2,825 wolves were killed in response to 721 fatal attacks on humans. Two years later, 2,600 wolves were killed in response to attacks leaving 624 humans dead. By the 1920s, wolf extermination remained a priority in the NWP and Awadh. Overall, over 100,000 wolves were killed for bounties in British India between 1871 and 1916. In modern India, the Indian wolf is distributed across the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. As of 2004, it is estimated that there are around 2000–3000 Indian wolves in the country. Mahuadanr Wolf Sanctuary in the state of Jharkhand is only wolf sanctuary in the country. They are mainly found outside of protected reserves and feed mainly on domestic animals, such as goats or sheep. However, in areas where natural prey is still abundant, for example in Velavadar National Park or Panna Tiger Reserve, natural prey species are still preferred. Although protected since 1972, Indian wolves are classed as Endangered, with many populations lingering in low numbers or living in areas increasingly used by humans. Although present in Bhutan, there is no information on the wolves occurring there. Relationships with humans