India: Villagers breathe a sigh of relief as last man-eater wolf terrorising UP's Bahraich is killed

In India's Uttar Pradesh, after months of terror, villagers have finally got respite from man-eater wolves. On Saturday (Oct 5), villagers in Tamachpur in the Mahsi region of Bahraich districteliminated the last of the six-member wolf pack responsible for a series of deadly attacks.

Villagers kill man-eater wolf

The last remaining wolf was killed by villagers on Saturday while the animal was attempting to hunt a goat. The Bahraich District Forest Department confirmed the incident, with officials retrieving the body of the wolf shortly after the villagers reported the attack.

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Ajit Singh, the Bahraich District Forest Officer, said, "For many days the department's teams were trying to catch this last wolf. When we got information that there was an animal body lying in a village. We immediately went there with our team and saw that a dead wolf was lying there since there were marks of wounds on his body. It is possible that these villagers or some other people killed it. We will investigate this. Only after investigation will we be able to say anything further."

This wolf pack had been terrorising the people of the Mahsi tehsil in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, for months, attacking multiple villages and causing widespread panic.

In total, the wolves were responsible for the deaths of nine people and injured over 40 others in various villages. The series of attacks prompted the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department to launch "Operation Bhediya," aimed at tracking and capturing the wolves responsible for the killings in 25 to 30 villages in the Bahraich Forest Division.

Prior to the killing of the last wolf, the forest department had captured the fifth wolf on September 10. However, the last wolf remained elusive despite ongoing efforts by the authorities.

To locate the remaining wolf, the forest department set up surveillance, including snap cameras in various potential habitats, particularly around six caves in Sikandarpur village, believed to be the wolves' den.

(With inputs from agencies)