Elderly couple killed, three injured in wolf attacks in Bahraich
As many as 19 wild animal attacks, including the ones on Monday night, have been reported in Bahraich this year
An elderly couple was killed in a wolf attack in the early hours of Tuesday in Majhra Taukli under Kaiserganj tehsil here, forest officials said, adding three others were injured in similar attacks in the area.
In a press release on Tuesday night, divisional forest officer (DFO) Ram Singh Yadav confirmed multiple incidents of wolf attacks in the region.
According to the DFO, Chhedan (80) and his wife Munkiya (75) from the Bhrigupurwa hamlet of Majhra Taukli, were sleeping in their thatched hut near their farmland when they were attacked by a wolf around 2 am. Their mutilated bodies were recovered about 100 meters away later. Police and forest teams took possession of the bodies, and further proceedings were underway.
The note further stated that Sabri (28) and Dhanbhatia (65) from the same hamlet, and Radha Devi (40) from Bahorwa village under Bondi police station, were injured in wolf attacks that took place early morning and at noon. The DFO stated that all the injured were currently undergoing treatment at the Fakharpur primary health centre.
Angered by the wolf attacks, locals clashed with a team of officials that reached the spot, and vandalised a government vehicle. Locals alleged that the forest department misled them by announcing the death of a male wolf, even as the threat persisted.
It may be added that on September 28, a male wolf was shot dead by the forest department during a search operation after it attempted to attack the team. Since then, wolf attacks in the area have intensified, with forest officials attributing the aggression to a female wolf believed to be the dead male’s mate.
Kaiserganj forest range officer Onkar Nath Yadav also said that the predator was a female wolf. He further noted that the female wolf had grown extremely aggressive following the death of the male wolf.
As many as 19 wild animal attacks, including the ones on Monday night, have been reported in Bahraich this year. Previously, four children were killed and nearly 20 others were injured in such attacks. The body of one of the children was yet to be recovered. Most attacks occurred in Majhra Taukli and its surrounding hamlets. Last year, 10 people, including nine children, were killed in wolf encounters.
