Female wolf beaten to death in Bahraich village

Villagers in Bahraich killed a female wolf after it attacked goats, but officials warn of legal action as wolves are a protected species under wildlife laws.

Locals of Tamachpur village in Tejwapur block, Bahraich, chased and killed a female wolf late night on Saturday after it reportedly attacked a goat herd. A team of veterinary experts was constituted for a postmortem examination of the animal, officials said.

The wolf was chased and killed a female late night on Saturday after it reportedly attacked a goat herd (Sourced)

Prior to the incident on Saturday, no wolf movement was reported in Tamachpur, which is located near the district headquarters and is about 30km away from Sisaiya Churamani, the village that was most vulnerable to wolf attacks. It was in and around Sisaiya Churamani where the forest department had previously captured five wolves.

However, the wolf’s killing is likely to attract legal repercussions. “Wolves are a protected species and classified as a schedule I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act. As such, legal action will be taken against those involved in the killing,” Bahraich divisional forest officer (DFO) Ajit Pratap Singh said.

“We understand the villagers’ fear and frustration, but this is a protected species. We will be registering a case against those responsible for killing the wolf,” the DFO added.

According to sources, the wolf was suspected to be a part of a pack of six that allegedly killed nine children and a woman in the Mahsi tehsil of the same district over the past few months.

“The wolf was a member of the pack that attacked humans. No other pack’s movement was noticed in the area. Also, there has been no other wolf sightings in the areas where most of the attacks took place. The area where the wolf was killed is close to the [Bahraich] city, which means that it was not its natural habitat and the wolf must have wandered into the area,” the DFO explained.

Responding to media reports that stated that it was a lame wolf, he clarified that no animal in the pack was injured.

It may be noted that the pack intensified its attacks on humans in July and August, a period during which seven people were killed (between July 17 and August 26) in the Mahsi Tehsil area of Bahraich. Many others in 32 villages of the tehsil were injured in the attacks.

Taking a serious note of the attacks, the government launched ‘Operation Bhediya’ to capture all the six wolves.

Security personnel were deployed in in large numbers in the 35 affected villages of Mahsi. Forest teams from seven districts were pressed into service to trap the wolves. Gram panchayat buildings and primary schools were turned into night shelters for people in remote villages.

With the help of thermal drones and camera traps, the forest department captured the first wolf of the pack on August 3. However, the animal died of a heart attack. Dr Deepak Verma, a veterinary expert who examined the wolf, said it was under stress and got itself injured twice while being shifted in a cage.

Two more wolves were trapped on August 9 and August 18 and both of them were taken to the Lucknow zoo. The fourth wolf was caught on August 29 and taken to the Gorakhpur zoo. However, the attacks were brought under control after the forest department captured the fifth wolf in Harbakhshpur village on September 10.

‘A huge relief’

The news of the ‘sixth’ wolf being beaten to death brought much relief to the people in Bahraich’s Mahsi villages.

Shanti Devi, 56, of Sikandarpur said, “The wolves had made our lives miserable, taking away our children and animals. This is a huge relief for all of us.”

Yogeshwar from Sisaiya Churamani, however, still had his doubts of the wolf being a member of the notorious pack. He said he would believe the news only after the forest department confirmed the same.

Over the past few months, the pack had terrorised nearly 50 villages in the Mahsi tehsil.