The fifth maneater wolf in the pack of six that had been terrorising Mahasi in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district was captured by a forest department team on
Monday night.

The team tracked the wolf after spotting its fresh pug marks at Sisaiya Churamani village. The animal was tranquilised and caged.

The wolf had killed a child in the same village four days ago.

The pack of six wolves had strayed into Mahasi and Hardi from the Katarniaghat forest sanctuary, killing more than 10 people and injuring over 60 this year. Their presence was first recorded in the area in March when they dragged away and killed a child.

Of the five wolves caught, one has died in the cage. Two were sent to zoos in Lucknow and one to Gorakhpur. The fate of the fifth wolf would be decided by Wednesday.

Some experts have claimed that the animals roaming and attacking humans are dog-wolf hybrids. The forest department is yet to make a statement on this.

Renu Singh, chief forest conservator, said: “Ajit Pratap Singh, divisional forest officer of Bahraich, and his team members were on the vigil when they realised the presence of one wolf in the village and succeeded in caging it.”

Villagers claim that there are at least four more wolves on the loose and all of them have become maneaters.

After spending so much time in human habitations, the wolves seem to have become familiar with the lay of the land. One of the wolves was spotted atop the house of Ramesh Singh in Pure Ganga Prasad Nai Basti on Sunday night. “It appears that the wolf climbed a tree and landed on our terrace,” Singh told reporters.

Shubhobroto Ghosh, wildlife campaign manager at the World Animal Protection in India, told The Telegraph: “It is unlikely that a wolf will climb a tree and jump onto the terrace of a house.”

He said the state government should take measures to avoid the recurrence of
such incidents.

“The situation in Bahraich is worrisome for both humans and animals. We urge caution in attributing blame for the attacks, including some suggestions that dog-wolf hybrids are responsible. We do not have enough evidence to blame the purported hybrids at this stage and regardless of genetic makeup, whichever animal is allegedly responsible, be it a purported dog-wolf hybrid or wolf, the approach to deal with the animal involved in this conflict ought to be a compassionate one.

“We urge the forest department and the state government of Uttar Pradesh to institute humane conflict mitigation measures that alleviate the loss of lives to both humans and animals.
The wolves currently being trapped must be humanely treated in human custody,”
he added.

Incidents of human-animal conflict are on the rise across Uttar Pradesh.