Wolves, jackals, now a panther.

A 40-year-old resident in Harkhapur village of Bahraich district was attacked by a panther when he was collecting bottle guards from his agricultural field on Thursday evening. Madhusudan Kumar's father Ram Kumar and mother Srimati Devi warded the animal off with sticks.

“We took him to the local community health centre from where he was referred to Mahrishi Balark District Hospital,” Ram Kumar told reporters on Friday.

Harkhapur village is adjacent to the Dharmapur Forest Range of the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, as are the other villages where wolves have killed at least 10 people since March.

Ratnesh Kumar, the forest ranger of the area, confirmed that Madhusudan had been attacked by a panther. “According to rules, we have handed over a compensation of Rs 5,000 to the father of the victim. His hospital expenses will be taken care of. We have informed senior officials about the incident.” he said.

In village after village along the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, man-eater wolves have injured at least 60 people in the past few months, besides killing 10, including children.

To add to the woes, jackals have terrorised Sultanpur in central Uttar Pradesh, killing a baby days earlier this month after mauling six adults.

The forest department has said they had caught five of the six wolves. But villagers say there are at least three wolves on the prowl.

Alok Sharma, a resident of Bahadurchak village, said: “Wolves killed and ate my two goats on Thursday night."

Ravi Sharma of the same village said: “A wolf attacked me 10 days ago and villagers informed forest officers, but they never came. I went to a hospital on my own.”

Raj Kumar, another villager, said: “A forest department official asked us to bury the remains of the goats immediately and promised to visit the village after a few days. We are still waiting.”

Mohammad Umar, 13, of village Pipari Mohan in the Mahasi tehsil was also attacked by a wolf on Thursday morning. Usman Ali, his father, said: “Umar is under treatment at the district hospital."

There are about 50 villages in Bahraich where wild animals have strayed from the forest in search of food. The forest department has said 50 teams of shooters and animal experts are on the vigil round the clock. Ajit Pratap Singh, the divisional forest officer of Bahraich, told reporters that they were trying to rein in the stray animals.