Authorities in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state Thursday said they captured one of what is believed to be a pack of wolves that have killed at least seven people in recent weeks, including six children, in the state’s Bahraich district.
In a video provided by the state forestry department, a small wolf can be seen in a cage as people gathered around it. Officials said the wolf was later tranquilized and taken to a local zoo.
Officials said the attacks took place in about 30 villages over the past two months in the district. In hot summer months, it is common for people to sleep on mats on floors, and some homes in lower-income areas have no doors — all of which makes them more vulnerable to wolf attacks.
Bahraich District Magistrate Monika Rani said forestry officials and police have been working together to address the wolf issue. As many as 16 teams and drones equipped with cameras have been deployed to track the wolves. The officials also were using elephant dung and urine to divert wolves away from villages.
An official told New Delhi Television that wolves tend to avoid other large animals while hunting, and that the scent could drive them away.
Rani said doors are being installed at houses that don't have them, and night patrolling is being conducted in all villages.
The Reuters news service reports that while leopard and tiger attacks are regularly reported in India, wolf attacks in these numbers are unusual. On its website, the International Wolf Center reports there were similar cases of attacks by wolves in Uttar Pradesh state in 1996, when more than 50 children were killed in 76 attacks.
The Wolf Center said such attacks can occur in densely populated, low-income areas where there is little wild prey for wolves to hunt.
Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.
