Wolves kill 9 people, mostly children, in separate attacks in India:

Indian rangers have deployed drones to track wolves after nine people, mostly children, were killed by the animals in recent weeks, officials said Sunday.

The latest victim was a 10-month-old girl who was abducted by a wolf in Bahraich district in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday while she was sleeping next to her mother, they said.

The boy was later found dead in a field.

A day earlier, a 5-year-old boy was kidnapped in front of his mother outside their home.

The boy, found mutilated in a sugar cane field, died on the way to the hospital.

Authorities said the attack followed the same pattern seen in a group of villages that reported similar incidents since September.

The latest deaths bring the toll of alleged wolf attacks in Bahraich to at least nine in three months, according to police, forestry officials and media reports.

An elderly couple was also among the victims.

Forest officer Ram Singh Yadav told News on Sunday that authorities have deployed drones, camera traps and shooters in the area.

“The behavior of the wolves seems to have changed. Lately they are seen active during the day, which is strange,” Yadav said.

Other forestry officials said the animals appeared unusually bold.

Bahraich saw a Similar wave of attacks last year, when a pack of wolves killed at least nine people, including a 1-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl, and injured several others. At the time, authorities warned people not to sleep outdoors or move around alone at night, but some houses in the area don’t even have doors and many lack indoor bathrooms, leaving residents with no choice but to go out to relieve themselves at night.

The grassland plains of Bahraich district lie about 30 miles south of the border with Nepal, where thick forests cover the foothills of the Himalayas.

Experts say wolves attack humans or livestock only as a last resort when they are hungry, preferring less dangerous prey such as small antelopes.

Most of India’s approximately 3,000 wolves survive outside protected areas, often in close proximity to people.

The animals, also known as plains wolves and classified as vulnerable, are smaller than the strongest Himalayan wolf and can be confused with other species such as jackals.

Bahraich villagers say they now live in mortal fear of wolves lurking near their homes.

“Our children are not safe even inside the house,” said one resident.

“We just want the attacks to stop.”

While attacks by big cats and elephants Not uncommon in India, wolf attacks are unusual. More than 300 people died in tiger attacks in the country between 2018 and 2022.

Experts say the expansion of cities and towns into wild areas, reducing the natural habitats and hunting grounds of many species, is a major factor behind the increase in encounters between people and animals.