 "Urine-soaked teddy, bursting firecrackers: How UP’s Bahraich is trying to hunt down man-eating wolves who’ve killed 7 children")
Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich is reeling from a series of wolf attacks that have claimed at least eight lives, including of seven children and a woman, in the past two months. A three-year-old girl became the latest victim of the wild animal.
Her mother told ANI that her child was taken by one of the wolves early on Monday (September 2). “She was bitten on both hands. We are poor people who work as labourers. There is no door to our home,” she said.
The deadly wolf attacks have increased in the Mahsi Tehsil of Bahraich since July, with officials saying the wild animals have killed several people and injured numerous villagers.
The Uttar Pradesh government has launched ‘Operation Bhediya’ to hunt the pack of man-eating wolves. The forest department has reportedly captured four of the six wolves linked to the attacks, while two remain at large. Officials have now introduced a notable initiative to hunt the predators.
Let’s take a closer look.
UP’s plan to catch wolves
The forest department officials are using colourful teddy dolls soaked in children’s urine as a false bait to capture the wolves.
These urine-covered dolls have been kept near riverbanks, close to the resting places and dens of these wild animals, to mimic natural human scent.
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More Shorts“Since these animals have primarily been targeting children, we have introduced large soft toys dressed in colourful clothes, soaked in children’s urine, to create a false sense of human presence near the traps. The natural human scent may attract the wolves closer to the traps,” Divisional Forest Officer Ajit Pratap Singh told the news agency PTI.
They are also burning elephant dung to ward off the wild animals from populated areas.
“The wolves are constantly shifting locations, typically hunting at night and returning to their dens by morning. Our strategy is to mislead them and lure them away from residential areas toward traps or cages placed near their dens,” Singh said.
He said they were setting off firecrackers and making noise to drive the wild animals towards deserted areas.
Villagers are also bursting firecrackers at night to keep the wolves at bay.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Drone visuals from Bahraich where a search operation is underway to catch the wolves left. So far 4 wolves have been caught. There are 2 wolves left.
— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2024
Late last night, a wolf attacked a 7-year-old boy and a woman, residents of Barbigha Hardi PS area of… pic.twitter.com/wthuykjNDs
Task force formed
The divisional forest officers of four dsitricts are part of ‘Operation Bhediya’.
As per a Times of India (TOI) report, a specialised task force, consisting of 200 personnel from forest, police, and fire departments, is tracking down the wolves that have terrorised the villagers.
The officials are conducting patrols in the vicinity of huts and settlements to stop further attacks.
The task force has deployed thermal drones and CCTV cameras to monitor the movement of the wolves.
“An unusual but effective tactic being employed involves the use of elephant dung and urine, which is sprinkled around villages to deter the wolves. When set aflame, the dung produces a scent that mimics the presence of elephants, a species known to repel pack predators like wolves. The idea is to create the illusion of elephants nearby,” Akashdeep Badhawan, Barabanki DFO, told TOI. “Wolves tend to avoid large animals, and by simulating this, we hope to push the pack away from human habitats. We’ve laid baited traps in remote areas to capture the wolves,” he said.
ALSO READ: 'Grabbed my child by the neck': How a pack of man-eating wolves is spreading terror in UP
Panic in Bihar
The reports of deadly wolf attacks in Uttar Pradesh have triggered panic in neighbouring Bihar. A jackal was baten to death Bihar’s Maksudpur amid reports of the “killer wolves” of Bahraich.
Experts have criticised the sensational coverage of the wolf attacks by the media.
“Media has a huge responsibility to stop the spread of unnecessary panic… The recent spate of alleged killings of children by wolves in Bahraich and the extensive coverage it has got in national and regional media are responsible for such barbaric acts in places that are hundreds of kilometers away,” Anish Andheria, President and CEO of Wildlife Conservation Trust, told NDTV.
“There are many wrong things about this incident – mindless clobbering of an animal in cold blood, the criminals have mistaken a jackal for a wolf, the act highlights absolute disrespect towards the law [Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972)], (and) videographing the entire act shows sadistic tendencies in the perpetrator/s,” he said.
Indian scientist and former Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dr YV Jhala, an expert on Indian wolves, also criticised the media over the coverage. “It’s time to take responsibility and not sensationalise and exaggerate. Simple solution to reducing the attacks and deaths is to be vigilant, take care of children always accompanied by adults, sleep indoors with doors closed or blocked with thorn hedge,” he said to NDTV.
With inputs from agencies
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