A forest department team of Uttar Pradesh captured on Thursday a fully grown male wolf under its 'Operation Bhediya' launched to capture a pack of wolves on the prowl in Mehsi tehsil of Bahraich district that has so far killed seven people.

The department has so far captured four wolves.

Barabanki Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Akashdeep Badhawan, the in-charge of 'Operation Bhediya', told PTI that a male wolf was trapped in one of the cages set up near Sisayya Chudamani village in the morning.

The animal caught is a fully grown male, he said.

Six children and a woman have been killed by the animals in the last month and a half in Bahraich with the latest attack taking place in a village on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

Drone cameras and thermal drone mapping techniques are being used by the forest department to catch the wolves. Permission to tranquillise the animals has been granted by the chief wildlife warden, according to an official statement.

As per the forest department, there is uncertainty about the total number of wolves in the area, officials said.

Principal Chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife) Sanjay Srivastava on Wednesday said 16 teams were working to capture the wolves, and 12 district-level officers are also stationed here.

Additional Principal Chief Forest Conservator Renu Singh will remain on-site until the remaining wolves are captured, he added.

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