Wolf That Killed 6 Children In India's Uttar Pradesh Arrested

UNSPLASH/Hans Veth ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Indian authorities arrested one in three wolves that killed six children and a woman in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh over the past two weeks.

More than 30 villages in Bahraich district have been attacked by wolves in recent days, saidten Deep Badhawan, senior Indian Forestry Service official.

During the summer, villagers in India usually sleep on mats or beds made of rope woven outside their homes because the air is cooler.

Three wolves were identified as killer and tracked with a drone equipped with a camera and thermal mapping software. Authorities continue to pursue two other wolves.

"The district government and forestry departments have deployed several teams to guard the villages and arrest them," Badaghan said.

"The situation is rather complicated because this wildlife species is very cunning. We have advised villagers not to sleep in the open with their children," he added.

Although leopard and tiger attacks are reported regularly in India, wolf attacks are rare.

Authorities in Bahraich have also put up loudspeakers and spotlights to get rid of the animals. Forestry officers from five nearby districts have been deployed to help capture the animals, Badhawan said.

"We plan to use elephant feces and urine to get the wolves out of residential areas," he said.