Operation Bhediya: 5th man-eater wolf captured in Bahraich after deadly attacks, 1 left

A fifth wolf was captured on Tuesday as part of the 'Operation Bhediya' campaign that has been ongoing in Bahraich's Mahasi tehsil to catch a pack of six wolves that have killed eight people and injured more than 20 since mid-July, officials said here.

The fifth man-eater wolf was captured using pugmark technique near Ghaghra river close to Harabnspur village, Divisional Forest Officer Ajit Pratap Singh told PTI.

"Now the pack's last wolf, who is lame, is left. It can be alpha wolf (leader of the pack). Till it is caught, the problem might persist. It is hoped that it will also be caught soon," the officer said.

Chief Forest Conservator Renu Singh, however, refuted claims that the remaining wolf is lame. "It is not true," she said, adding that the captured wolf is a female.

According to Ajit Pratap Singh, the forest department team had found wolf footprints in the area on Monday night. However, since the operation could not be carried out at night, four forest department teams arrived in the morning and surrounded the area.

The wolf attempted to flee but was trapped in a net laid by the forest department. With the help of villagers, the forest workers managed to capture and cage the wolf, the divisional forest officer said.

The forest department team had captured the fourth wolf of the pack on August 29. After that, the remaining wolves likely became cautious and have since evaded capture, the officer said.

Renu Singh said that to capture the fifth wolf, more emphasis was placed on using the old "pugmark" technique than drones.

"After taking the advice of wildlife experts, the captured female wolf will be send to a zoo," she said.

"These wolves were dodging us repeatedly and had slipped from our team many times. This time we put more emphasis on using pugmarks instead of drones. These are very smart animals. On seeing the drone, they understood that our companions would be caught. But the use of drones was also necessary for rescue in such a large area," Renu Singh said.

She said that on Monday, the forest department team learned that a goat had been taken by a wolf from Nathuvapur village.

"Pugmarks were also found there and in the evening, I personally reached the area with senior officials. The evidence made it certain that we are very close to them. Since it was night, the operation was not possible then and, therefore, the wolf was caught in the morning," Renu Singh said.

She added that the wolf was tracked using pugmarks and successfully captured. "This was the fifth wolf, after previously capturing four. Now, only one wolf remains and it will be caught soon," the chief forest conservator said.

When asked whether the captured female wolf was a man-eater, Renu Singh said, "It must be, because when one wolf becomes a man-eater, the whole pack tends to follow. However, the final conclusion on whether it is a man-eater will depend on observing its behaviour."

'Operation Bhediya', an ongoing campaign since July 17, aims to capture a pack of six wolves that have been terrorising 50 villages in Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich district.

So far, at least eight people, including seven children, have died in suspected attacks by these wolves, District Magistrate (Bahraich) Monika Rani said on September 2.