Bahraich wolf attack: Villagers breathe easy as Forest Department nabs fifth man-eating wolf

Bahraich: In a major relief for the people of the Kachhar region, another man-eating wolf, which had become a symbol of fear, was finally caught by the forest department on Tuesday morning.

Just a few days ago, this wolf had attacked and killed a child in a nearby village.

Earlier, four wolves had been captured under 'Operation Bhediya'.

The capture of this wolf brings the total number of wolves caught in the area to five. Out of these, one wolf has died, while two have been relocated to the Lucknow zoo and another to the Gorakhpur zoo. The latest wolf, a female, was trapped last night and will soon be sent to a zoo as well.

"This is a huge success. Four wolves were captured earlier and one more was caught today. So, we have rescued 5 wolves so far. DFO and his team have done this.One more wolf remains and we will make all the efforts to rescue it at the earliest...It will be sent to a zoo,"Renu Singh, Chief Forest Conservator of Central Zone said.

"This is very interesting because we received information yesterday that it lifted a goat in Nathuwapur. Tracing its pug marks, we set up nets and waited because the rescue operation could not have taken place at night. We carried out the operation in morning and captured it early morning...We changed our strategy because it was changing its behaviour," she added.

Earlier, drones were used to capture the wolves. But the wolves started running away soon as they spotted drones.

Villagers, who have been living in fear, finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the news. Divisional Forest Officer Ajit Pratap Singh confirmed that more wolves still remain in the area, but efforts are underway to capture them too.

Since March, these wolves have terrorised more than 50 villages in the Mahsi tehsil area, claiming the lives of ten people, including eight children. Over 37 people have also been injured in these attacks.

To combat this, the forest department has deployed four cages, eight thermosensor cameras, and even thermal drones to monitor the area and capture the remaining wolves.