Wolf That Killed 7 Children In UP Caught: How Operation Bhediya Unfolded

A wolf involved in the killings of at least eight people in two months in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district has been caught, officials said today. At least eight people, including seven children and a woman, have so far died in wolf attacks in Bahraich over the past two months. An infant was killed in the latest attack on Tuesday night.

The wolf, part of the pack of six, was trapped after forest department officials used firecrackers to force it to a particular path.

They then tranquillized it and took it to Gorakhpur zoo.

Sanjay Srivastava, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), said the wolf was first detected by a thermal imaging drone at 11 pm on Wednesday.

"It was monitored again using a drone around 5 am. The wolf's footprints were spotted, and the local forest department officials sprang into action. After a challenging effort, they successfully captured the wolf from the floodplain of Sisayya village at around 10:45 am. The search for two other wolves is still ongoing," Mr Srivastava said.

He said the team resorted to physico-chemical immobilization and successfully captured the wolf using a net.

Officials have so far captured four wolves and believe two are still out in the open.

Drone Cameras Used To Catch Killer Wolves

The Uttar Pradesh government has launched 'Operation Bhediya' to capture the pack of wolves on the prowl in Mehsi tehsil in Bahraich.

According to an official statement by the government, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also closely monitoring the operation.

An official said they have deployed 16 teams to capture the wolves.

Drone Cameras and thermal drone mapping techniques are being used by the Forest Department to catch the killed wolves. The officials were also using elephant dung and urine to divert the wolves' route when the attack occurred.

"The dung is set afire to create a scent that simulates the presence of elephants. Wolves, which are pack hunters, tend to avoid large animals like elephants. By creating this illusion, we aim to push them away from inhabited areas. We have also set up traps with bait in remote areas," an official said.

District Magistrate Monika Rani said doors are being installed at houses that don't have them and night patrolling is being conducted in all villages. ASHA workers have been also assigned the job of raising awareness among the people, she said.