Drones help capture another wolf in Bahraich, search on for 2 more
The department has so far captured four wolves in the area, with the latest one set to be relocated to the Gorakhpur zoo, officials said. The one captured on Thursday morning was the most ferocious of the four, they claimed.
3 min read
A team with the wolf that was captured in Bahraich district on Thursday. PTI The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department on Thursday captured another wolf in Bahraich amid a scare of a pack of wolves in at least 35 villages of the district’s Mehsi tehsil.
The department has so far captured four wolves in the area, with the latest one set to be relocated to the Gorakhpur zoo, officials said. The one captured on Thursday morning was the most ferocious of the four, they claimed.
The search for two more wolves is still on, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Sanjay Srivastava said.
The wolf was first detected by a thermal drone at 11 pm on Wednesday night, Srivastava said. “It was traced again through a drone around 5 am. The wolf’s footprints were spotted, and the local department officials swung into action. They captured the wolf from the floodplains of Sisayya village at 10.45 am,” he added.
He added, “Drone-mapping was carried out and efforts were made throughout the day on Wednesday. By continuously tracking its movements, the wolf’s location was identified from its footprints on Thursday morning. The team then resorted to physico-chemical immobilisation and successfully captured the wolf using a net.”
As part of the ‘Operation Bhediya’ ordered by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath,
Additional Principal Chief Conservator Renu Singh, Bahraich Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ajit Singh, Devipatan Forest Conservator Manoj Sonkar, campaign’s nodal officer and Barabanki Divisional Forest Officer Akash Badhavan along with their teams were at the site.
On the Chief Minister’s instructions, Forest and Environment Minister Arun Saxena, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Department Sudhir Kumar Sharma, and Sanjay Srivastava reached Bahraich on Wednesday to supervise the operation.
After visiting the affected villages, the Forest Minister confirmed that the department’s team was fully equipped to capture the wolves.
Chief Minister Adityanath on Thursday hailed the Forest Department officials for their efforts in ensuring the safety of the local community.
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.
The department officials said there is uncertainty about the total number of wolves in the area.
Principal Chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife) Srivastava had on Wednesday said 16 teams were working to capture the wolves, and 12 district-level officers were also stationed there.
— PTI inputs
You May Like
