A wolf involved in attacks that killed at least eight people, including seven children, in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district has been captured and taken to a zoo. The wolf, part of a pack of six, was caught following a successful operation by forest officials.
The attacks, which occurred over the past two months, had caused concern and prompted immediate action from local authorities. The latest incident, on Tuesday night, involved the killing of an infant. In response to the repeated attacks, locals started patrolling during nighttime and stopped children from venturing out.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath sent Forest Minister Arun Kumar Saxena to the site to take stock of the situation. The Uttar Pradesh government launched 'Operation Bhediya' to capture the pack of wolves on the prowl in Mehsi tehsil in Bahraich.
The Forest Department deployed 16 teams equipped with drone cameras and thermal mapping technology to locate and capture the wolves.
In addition to drones and thermal mapping, officials used innovative methods to catch the wolves, including elephant dung and urine to divert their route. Traps with bait were also set up in remote locations.
Barabanki Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Akashdeep Badhawan, the in-charge of 'Operation Bhediya', told PTI that a male wolf was trapped in one of the cages set up near Sisayya Chudamani village in the morning.
The animal caught is a fully grown male, he said.
As per the forest department, there is uncertainty about the total number of wolves in the area. Principal Chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife) Sanjay Srivastava on Wednesday said 16 teams were working to capture the wolves, and 12 district-level officers are also stationed there.
Additional Principal Chief Forest Conservator Renu Singh will remain on-site until the remaining wolves are captured.
