Villagers beat to death a wolf believed to be the last of a pack of six individuals that killed nine people, including eight children, in northern India, a local forest official said on Sunday.
Gray wolves have caused hysteria among residents of Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh state, where the animals are believed to have attacked more than 40 people.
More than 150 armed personnel and dozens of forestry officials were deployed to capture the wolves last month.
Out of a pack of six animals, five were trapped, while drones and surveillance cameras showed the last one was still roaming around.
Forest officer Ajit Singh said villagers contacted him on Sunday to report that they had killed a wolf.
“We were informed of the presence of a dead animal in the village and, upon arriving at the scene, we found a wolf with obvious signs of physical injuries,” Mr. Singh told AFP. “It appears he was part of the same pack,” he added.
According to experts, wolves only attack humans or livestock as a last resort, when they are starving.
Heavy flooding from extreme torrential rains has submerged their usual territory, depriving them of hunting grounds and pushing them toward more populated areas of farmland, according to environmental officials.
Some of those killed or injured were attacked while sleeping on the veranda of their homes, a common practice during the hot and humid monsoon days.
The grassy plains of Bahraich district are located about 50 km south of the border with Nepal, where thick forests cover the foothills of the Himalayas.
The majority of India’s approximately 3,000 wolves survive outside protected areas, often in close proximity to humans. According to experts, their numbers have declined due to habitat loss and lack of wild prey.
In Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book,” a work from 1894, the hero Mowgli was raised by gray wolves.
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