How UP forest teams caught a deadly killer wolf after a 72 hour operation
How was the wolf, which had killed seven children and a woman, in UP's Bahraich finally trapped? It was known as Operation Bhediya
The wolf that had killed eight people, including children and an infant, in the past two months, in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district has finally been caught by forest department officials.
Seven children, including an infant and a woman, have so far died in wolf attacks in Bahraich over the past two months.
So, how was the wolf, which is part of a pack of four, finally trapped? How did the forest department officials finally track down the animal in an operation, which took 72 hours, and was even monitored by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath?
According to news reports, 16 teams were deployed to capture the wolves in what was called Operation Bhediya. Forest department officials used drone cameras and thermal drone mapping techniques to find the wolves. They also used elephant dung and urine to divert the wolves' route taking them away from human habitations.
Doors were installed at houses that did not have one and night patrolling was intensified in the villages. Meanwhile, the elephant dung was set on fire to stimulate a scent of the presence of elephants near the villages. This tends to scare away the wolves who tend to avoid large animals. In this way, the forest department officials drove them away from inhabitated areas and set up traps with baits in remote areas.
Once the officials realised where the wolves were located they used firecrackers to force them down a particular path. After which, they were cornered and tranquillized and carted off to a zoo.
Forest officials are still on the hunt for the three other killer wolves.