Wolf-catching spree on in UP as fear lingers
Villagers in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, are on high alert after wolf attacks killed nine people in 40 days. The forest department is actively trying to capture the predators.
Blaring loudspeakers asking villagers to be awake in the 50-odd villages close to Ghaghra river in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district following the killing of nine people, mostly children, in the past 40 days has resulted in a scramble to catch the alleged predators – presumed to be wolves.
The forest department has confirmed that seven deaths were caused by a wild animal. “In case of a young girl and a 45-year-old woman, we are verifying the cause of death,” said Renu Singh, additional principal chief conservator, forest department, who is monitoring the operation to catch the wolves in Bahraich.
Under pressure from local villagers to act, the department has captured four wolves, including one on Thursday morning, but still don’t know whether they have got the actual killer. “We have captured four wolves – all between 25kg and 30kg and young. Attempt is on to catch others,” Singh said.
A clearer sky has hampered the operation to catch the elusive animals, which usually avoid human habitats, as a drone has not been able to spot wild animals in the forest areas around these villages. Singh said rains had previously pushed the wolves out of their homes, mostly caves, looking for food and they were spotted by drone cameras till Tuesday. The department has deployed 10 teams with drones, apart from officials of the local administration.
From the initial investigation and series of killings, Singh suspected that a group of wolves might have killed a child, an easy prey, and repeated the act leading to more killings. “We are focusing on cutting the route between the pack of wolves and human settlements first and then trapping them, for which over 200 trained staff are on the field,” she added. She did not disclose the scientific basis for concluding the attacks were by wolves.
VY Jhala, a senior scientist of Indian National Science Academy (INSA) at National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), said the wolves are capable of killing humans but that the Bahraich attack could be of “captive bred wolf-dog” hybrid. The former dean of the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute, one of the country’s top experts on wolves, ruled out the possibility of group of wolves being involved saying all carcasses of children killed was found to be intact. “In case a group is involved, they break the carcass into pieces and that has not happened there. To me, only one animal seems to be involved,” he said.
According to a paper published by Wildlife Institute scientists including Jhala in March 2002, after examining 34 million pictures of wild animals, India has an estimated 2,812 wolves, the majority of which are found in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The population of wolves is sparse in Uttar Pradesh, the epicentre of the attacks, with estimate population of 61. “The fact is that wolves kill much fewer people than tigers and elephants in India,” Jhala said.
A wolf expert working with WII, who was not willing to be quoted, said a fall in wild prey population may have forced animals to look for food in human settlements, but admitted that it is rare for wolves to attack humans. “[But] we have often seen that there is more protection to livestock that children, who become easy prey to attack by wolves or feral dogs,” this person added.
In 1996, 38 children were claimed to have been killed in 78 wolf attacks in Pratapgarh, Jaunpur and Sultanpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh. “We found that many of the claims were fictitious to claim compensation,” Jhala said.
However, fear has gripped the villagers, with mothers sleeping with a limb of their child tied to their saree or dupatta ; some families have sent children to family based elsewhere. Many villages have started night vigils with local men and policemen patrolling, and loudspeakers blaring “jagte raho (keep awake)”.
“God knows when we will be rid of this evil,” said Shanti Devi, a resident of Sisaiya village, where a child was killed on August 3. Prasant Babu, headmaster of the primary school in Chandpaiya, where three children were injured in an animal attack, said he has instructed the children to come to school only in “groups”, admitting that attendance has fallen.