Bahraich: Yet another child fell prey to a wolf attack in Bahraich’s Kaiserganj forest division in Uttar Pradesh, forest officials confirmed on Saturday. The animal involved was later shot dead.
The latest victim was one-year-old Arvi, the daughter of Ram Kumar and Ram Kumari. She was sleeping with her mother on the verandah of their house in the Jaruwa hamlet of Godhaiya No 4 village when the wolf entered the premises and dragged her away around 3 am on Saturday, divisional forest officer (DFO) Ram Singh Yadav told Hindustan Times.
Arvi was the second child to fall victim to a wolf attack in the area in a week. On December 7, a 4-month-old child was killed by a wolf in Malhanpurwa hamlet of Godhaiya No 3 village. Since September 9, as many as 12 people, including 10 children, have been killed in wolf attacks in the region.
According to Yadav, the chi
ld’s mother raised an alarm. Though family members and others gathered and tried to trap the animal, it managed to flee.
A team equipped with drones and shooters was rushed to the site. The wolf was spotted in drone footage, after which it was shot dead near a riverbank, the DFO said.
There was no scope to capture the animal alive due to the terrain, Yadav said. It was a fully grown male aged around five years. The child’s body, however, could not be traced till Saturday evening, and a search operation was underway to trace her, he stated.
Wolf attacks are a major problem in the region with infants being the main targets of the animals. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath visited Bahraich on September 27 this year and ordered to “capture or shoot” the wolves involved in the attacks. The forest department has since eliminated five wolves.
Ten people, including nine children, were killed in wolf attacks in 2024. Eight of them were killed between July and September. A total of six wolves were trapped, out of which one was killed by villagers in Tamachpur village, while another died after being captured last year. While the attacks tok place in the Mahsi tehsil last year, this year most of the attacks were being reported from the Kaiserganj area.