LUCKNOW: A team of forest officials trapped the fifth ‘killer’ wolf on Tuesday as part of ‘Operation Bhediya’, the campaign in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich to capture a pack of six wolves that have killed nine people including eight children and left over two dozen injured since mid-July.Launched on July 17, ‘Operation Bhediya’ aims to capture all the members of the pack that has been terrorising 50 villages in Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich district. After capturing the fifth ‘killer’ wolf, forest department teams intensified the search for the last of the pack.As per the forest department statement, the netted wolf, a female, was found in Sisaiya village. Bahraich Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ajeet Pratap Singh shared that although the operation to capture the wolves was not yet over, it had made significant progress.“A search is still underway for the last ‘killer’ wolf. The operation was intensified yesterday (Monday). The final phase began at around 5.30 am and concluded successfully by 6.30 am. Unlike previous operations, we didn’t deploy drones to capture the wolf as the animals had started fleeing upon spotting them. However, drones were still used to monitor its possible escape routes. Now one more wolf, a lame one, of the menacing pack remains, and we have spotted its location as well. We are on high alert,” said the DFO, adding that the remaining wolf could be the 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.The fifth wolf was captured using the pugmark technique near Ghaghra river close to Harabanspur village.According to the DFO, the search team had spotted footprints of the predator 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 location.
Source link
