Operation Bhediya: Soft toys soaked in children's urine, elephant dung to hunt Bahraich's killer wolves
In Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district, wolf attacks have led to the deaths of at least eight people, including seven children and a woman, over the past two months. To address the situation, the forest department has launched 'Operation Bhediya' and successfully captured four out of a pack of six wolves.
With two wolves still at large, officials have introduced an unconventional method to capture them. They are using large soft toys dressed in colorful clothes and soaked in children's urine as bait. This approach aims to create a false sense of human presence and attract the wolves towards traps.
In recent months, the Bahraich region has been terrorised by a slew of attacks from man-eating wolves targeting children and villagers. In response, the forest department has launched an innovative strategy, using brightly colored "teddy dolls" as false bait to capture these predators. These dolls, soaked in children's urine to mimic the natural human scent, have been strategically placed near riverbanks close to the wolves' resting places and dens.
Divisional Forest Officer Ajit Pratap Singh explained that the wolves, which have been targeting children, are being tracked with thermal drones. Efforts are also underway to drive them towards traps in remote areas by setting off firecrackers and making noise.
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According to the news article burning elephant dung is meant to create a scent that deters wolves, a strategy to drive the wolves away from populated areas and guide them towards traps set in more isolated locations.
Gyan Prakash Singh, a retired officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS) and a former forest officer at Katarniaghat Wildlife Division of Bahraich district, said wolves, unlike other predatory animals, have a tendency to seek revenge.
"On the basis of my experience, I can say that wolves have a tendency to take revenge. In the past, humans must have caused some kind of harm to their cubs due to which these attacks are happening as revenge," Singh, who is serving as an adviser to the Wildlife Trust of India after retirement, told PTI.
Around 25 years ago, more than 50 children were killed by wolves in the basin area of the Sai river in Jaunpur and Pratapgarh districts of Uttar Pradesh, he said.
"Perhaps a mistake was made here. Chakia forest is not a natural habitat
for wolves. It is likely that the same wolves have returned and are
carrying out these attacks to seek revenge," he said.
Jacob Black should be consulted if they want a workable solution. 
Scary 🥶 And what's the purpose of Elephant dung? Does its smell repel them in the same way that dogs are repeled by the scent of leopard urine?