Bharaich's 'alpha wolf' myth or reality? Why capturing pack leader is most crucial to 'Op Bhediya'

Five wolves have been captured so far

Two minor girls were attacked and injured by wild animals within five hours in Bahraich district's Mahsi tehsil early Wednesday morning, despite the forest department’s recent capture of a fifth ‘killer’ wolf on Tuesday.

While progress has been made in ‘Operation Bhedia,’ which aims to capture a pack of wolves responsible for several deadly attacks, experts believe the pack may be led by an ‘alpha wolf’ and the attacks may continue until the leader is caught.

Though some researchers dismiss the idea of an ‘alpha wolf’ as a myth, others argue that the theory still holds.

Prof. Rahul Shukla, former honorary wildlife warden at Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Dudhwa National Park, was quoted by The Times of India: "The pack members follow their leader. If the alpha targets children in human settlements, the rest will follow. However, once the alpha is captured or killed, the pack usually disperses and returns to hunting their natural prey.”

He further explained: "Although five wolves have been captured, it’s likely the leader is still at large. If we capture the alpha wolf, I believe the attacks will cease, regardless of the number of wolves left in the pack."

The report also quoted noted wolf biologist Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala, who said: "Every pack typically has an alpha pair—a male and a female—whose offspring make up the rest of the pack. This pair makes key decisions, like selecting a target and devising an attack strategy, acting as the pack’s leaders."

On the other hand, wildlife biologist Aniruddha Majumder, who has been studying wolf behavior for over a decade, rejects the notion of an ‘alpha wolf’ as outdated. He argued that the idea stemmed from research on captive wolves, noting that in the wild, wolves thrive in cooperative family units rather than hierarchical dominance structures typical of species like tigers.

While some scholars are ready to move beyond the alpha wolf theory, others believe it's still too early to discard it entirely.