Bahraich villagers fear return of wolves after two children killed in wild animal attacks

Forest Department dispatches multiple teams to patrol the area and trace the animal involved in the attack

Written by Manish Sahu

Lucknow | Updated: September 14, 2025 09:39 PM IST

4 min read

A female wolf captured by the Forest Department days after an infant was killed in an animal attack in Bahraich district in June this year. (ANI Photo)

The deaths of two children in wild animal attacks within 48 hours in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district have triggered a panic in nearly 25 villages, with residents fearing the return of wolves that haunted the region last year.

The state Forest Department has sprung into action, dispatching multiple teams to patrol the area and trace the animal involved in the attack. Though no one has sighted the predator yet, the injuries and the manner of killing bear a striking resemblance to last year’s wolf attacks, it was claimed.

The recent attacks on the two children — girls aged three and four — took place on September 9 and 11 at Paragpurwa and Sipahiya Bhorwa villages, located 5 kilometres apart.

In September last year, a pack of wolves killed eight people, mostly children, and injured 18 others in Mahasi tehsil of the district. The Forest Department had then launched ‘Operation Bhediya’, during which six wolves purportedly linked to the attacks were captured.

Residents said both the attacks occurred at night, when the area was plunged into darkness due to power outages, making it difficult for anyone to identify the animal.

Ram Singh Yadav, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Bahraich, said the postmortem reports of both the victims are awaited, the injuries on their bodies are of animal attack.

“We need to gather more evidence before we can conclusively say which animal carried out the attack,” he said, noting that both wolves and leopards are present in the area.

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Extensive precautionary and security measures have been put in place in the affected villages and the area has been divided into zones to aid the search, Yadav added.

Locals, too, have begun round-the-clock patrols and they are urging families not to let children sleep outdoors, he said.

The recent attacks

In the September 9 attack, a four-year-old girl was killed by an unidentified animal at Paragpurwa village. The victim’s family members said they were having dinner in the verandah of their house around 8 pm when the animal appeared and took away the child.

“Hearing her cries for help, we rushed to the spot, but by then the animal had already taken her away. We searched through the night but could not find her,” said Satguru Prasad, the victim’s uncle and former pradhan of the village.

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It was only the next morning that the child’s mutilated body was recovered from a nearby field, he said, adding they were convinced that a wolf was behind the attack, since the manner in which the child was taken matched earlier cases linked to the animal.

On September 11, the predator struck around 3am. This time too, the animal took away the three-year-old girl who was sleeping in the verandah with her mother, Rani, amid a power outage. Hearing the child’s screams, neighbours rushed and began searching the nearby area, but could not find the victim. The frantic search continued through the night, and it was only the following morning that the girl’s body was found in a field, said Prasad.

Precautionary measures

Forest officials said seven teams comprising nearly 70 personnel have been deployed in the affected areas. In addition to setting up three cages, the department has deployed three thermal drones, camera traps, and other monitoring equipment.

Officials are also conducting awareness campaigns in the villages, advising locals on the precautions they should take to protect themselves and their children from potential animal attacks.

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