Wolf attacks in Uttar Pradesh are not a new phenomenon. The recent killing of 10 people, including nine children, in Balaich was reminiscent of the 1996 wolf attacks in Pratapgarh and neighboring districts of Sultanpur and Jaunpur, in which more than 60 children were killed kill.
News18 delves into the 28-year-old tragedy, often referred to by locals as a “haunted past”, and interviews the foresters who led the operation to eradicate the man-eating wolves, as well as those who survived, to tell their stories.
Although Tiwaripur Kala is a small village in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, 227 km from the wolf-infested Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich, residents Their fear is palpable. The village, one of the worst hit by the 1996 attacks, said the events still haunt them. Many people prefer to stay indoors and avoid going out alone after dark.
“Sahab, humein toh lagta hai yeh kuch pichhle janam ka paap raha hoga jo humein yeh din dekhna pada (Maybe some evil deeds in the previous life led to the wolf attack). That is the scariest moment we face, even as children Nor was it safe in the arms of their mother. During that period, more than 60 children were killed.
“Our village, along with other villages like Raniganj, Patti, Vishwanathganj and even villages in neighboring districts like Sultanpur and Jaunpur, were under constant threat. It was only after the intervention of the Uttar Pradesh forest department that the wolf menace was finally eliminated.
Mukesh Yadav, 52, from the same village who survived a horrific wolf attack, recalls the night that changed his life. “In the middle of the night, I was 24 years old and sleeping in a field when a wolf attacked me. It tried to grab me by the neck, but I managed to push it away before its fangs dug into my skin. To my shock, the wolf It lunged at me again, this time grabbing my thigh. I tried to fight it off, but the wolf showed no mercy,” Yadav recalled.
Fortunately, local villagers spotted the animal and quickly raised the alarm. “The forest department rushed to the spot immediately and the wolf ran away. That night I really felt like I had been born a second time,” he said. “I am grateful to the foresters who saved my life. Without them, I would not be where I am today.
Forestry department intervenes
VK Singh, a former wildlife warden in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj district, said the operation to capture man-eating wolves in the 1990s was the most arduous operation in the history of the state's forest department. Singh said more than 100 forest personnel were involved in the operation, which lasted for about eight months and ended in the woods of Jaunpur. During this period, around 42 children were killed and the forest department managed to shoot around 13 man-eating wolves, finally ending the menace.
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Singh explained that the operation to capture the wolves was carried out along the Sai river bordering Jaunpur, Pratapgarh and Sultanpur. Both wolves and jackals inhabit the fringes of villages in this area. But what causes wolves to start targeting humans? “We believe that such incidents often occur during the search for easy food, especially when the female wolf is pregnant or giving birth,” said Singh.
During this time, the female wolf and her pups cannot hunt, so the male wolf ventures out in search of food. Human children are less likely to retaliate than other prey, making them the easiest targets. Once the child is killed, the male wolf will eat more than usual – twice its normal capacity – return to the den and regurgitate the partially digested food for the female and pups.
“After eating human flesh, either accidentally or on purpose, the wolf becomes accustomed and develops a preference, causing the wolf to continue to hunt children. When wolves begin to view human children as their primary food source, this This dangerous cycle makes wolves a constant threat.
But how do you conclude that it was a wolf and not another animal that attacked the child?
The Uttar Pradesh government hired researchers from India's Wildlife Institute, Dehradun, to conduct an in-depth analysis of the killings. The researchers began by calculating the area, looking at the tiniest details, including the landscape where the attacks occurred, the spread of village huts, the proximity of farmland or other cover, the number of livestock and the number of vulnerable children encountered. Additionally, they interviewed the victim's parents, eyewitnesses, survivors of the attack, forest officials and medical officials who conducted the autopsy. Researchers also studied the children's remains for forensic clues.
Research results
Forest department officials revealed that during the investigation, researchers found traces at two different locations where the bodies were found. The tracks were consistent with those of wolves, not wild dogs or striped hyenas. Crucially, the hair found on the victim was scientifically analyzed and determined to be that of a wolf. Researchers also reported that a wolf was spotted near one of the attack sites, but there was no evidence of hyenas or leopards in the area.
Eyewitness interviews provided a description consistent with the wolf, further corroborating the findings. The stab wounds on the victim also matched the spacing of the wolf's canine teeth, ruling out the possibility of other predators such as hyenas, leopards or jackals. Additionally, the victim's remains were found in the open, a characteristic of wolf attacks. If it was a leopard, the carcass would have been hidden under thick cover. The fact that the remains were mostly intact and not scattered suggests that a single wolf, rather than a pack, was responsible. It was concluded that wolves were behind the attacks.
When to issue an immediate fire order
Singh said that during the operation, they collected about 42 mutilated bodies of children, which caused strong dissatisfaction among people. “On the orders of the then chief wildlife warden Ashok Singh, sharpshooters from Dudhwa National Park, Jim Corbett and Rajaji National Park were posted at the site of the wolf attack,” he added.
Nailing a wolf is no easy task
Singer said that unlike other wild animals, wolves are “very typical.” “They were quick and smart, making it difficult for the shooter to get a clear shot,” he recalled. “We had to study their killing patterns first. We observed that after each attack there was a three-day gap before the next attack, always in a different location. These incidents occurred every three to four days because Wolves, like other carnivores, only eat when they are hungry,” he added.
However, tracking wolves and understanding their behavior is a difficult task, especially in an era without modern technology, Singh said. “At that time, we did not have the Internet, drones or advanced communication tools like walkie-talkies, mobile phones or WhatsApp to help us. Eradicating wolves was a difficult problem,” he added.
Despite the challenges, the team managed to kill around 13 wolves, finally ending human killings. “It was a difficult operation, but we managed to stop the threat,” he recalled.
Some 28 years have passed since then, and wolf attacks still plague the people of Pratapgarh. Meanwhile, in Baraich, the UP forest department and district administration deployed over 250 staff, including 150 forest officials, and installed four traps and used three sets of thermal drone cameras to track the remaining wolves .
