'Easy to carry in their mouths': Why wolves are attacking children in UP's Bahraich

Habituation and scarcity of usual sources of food are also considered to be key factors why these wolves turn man-eaters.

After a lull of period, UP's Bahraich once again faced wolf terror. A three-year-old girl died, and two women sustained injuries as wolves attacked them late Sunday night. A nine-year-old boy was also attacked.

According to reports, a pack of man-eating wolves has unleashed terror across the region leaving more than 50,000 residents across 25 to 30 villages in the Hardi area of Mahsi Tehsil gripped with fear. As per reports, seven children and a woman have been killed in wolf attacks in Bahraich over the last two months. The forest department launched Operation Bhediya and caught four wolves. However, two members of the pack remain at large. Their movements are being tracked by using drones.

The Bahraich incidents have shaken the common perception that wolves, among most carnivorous predators, are quite unlikely to attack humans. A report by Hindustan Times quoted a study by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research from 2002-2020 that showed only 26 fatal wolf attacks on humans took place across the world during the mentioned period.

What makes wolves attack humans?

Former Indian Forest Service Officer and wildlife expert Ashok Kumar Shukla told News18 that wolves are “very peculiar” when it comes to hunting. According to Shukla, wolves do not distinguish between hunting a human child or an animal when hungry. “They hunt whatever they can easily find to eat. They also have their own distinct hunting patterns,” said Shukla.

Calling them “clever and agile” hunters, Shukla said wolves never eat their prey at the site of the kill. They carry it away a little far and then eat in peace. “Due to this behaviour, wolves hunt only animals they can easily carry away in their mouths. Since children under two years old are unable to walk or resist, they are the easiest prey. At night, wolves snatch children sleeping in the open and run away without being noticed,” Shukla told news18.

According to him, wolves move closer to the plains during monsoon as water fills areas near forests and caves, making easy targets more accessible. “It’s important to note that a wolf can inflict as much harm on an adult human as a dog can,” he said.

Habituation and scarcity of usual sources of food are also considered to be key factors why these wolves turn man-eaters.

However, biologist Yadvendradev Jhala considers cross-breeding to be a reason too. “Cross breeding of dogs in the area and wolves could have also led to wolves becoming more comfortable in human spaces and thus preying within these areas as well,” he told Hindustan Times.