Rabies or distemper virus may be behind Bahraich wolf attacks, says Intl Big Cat Alliance chief

New Delhi: A disease such as rabies or canine distemper virus could be responsible for the spate of wolf attacks that have terrorised around 50 villages in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district, according to S P Yadav, head of the International Big Cat Alliance.

The exact reason, however, can only be determined through a proper analysis of the captured animals, he told PTI editors at the agency’s headquarters here.

A pack of six wolves has killed eight people and injured more than 20 in the district, a traditional wolf habitat, since mid-July.

“It is a one-off incident; it is not a regular occurrence. There must be a rabid animal or something similar that triggered this issue. Normally, this does not happen. I believe it is the first such incident in the past 10 years. The forest department is conducting surveys to identify the problematic animal,” Yadav said.

Yadav, who previously headed Project Tiger and Project Cheetah, said that rabies and canine distemper virus can sometimes alter the behaviour of big cats, making them lose their fear of humans.

“This could be the cause. It is important to capture the animal, analyse the sample, and diagnose the issue properly to determine the reason,” he added.

The former member secretary of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) said tigers occasionally become “man-eaters”, which also is not a common occurrence.

“Hunting requires a lot of energy. It is not easy. So, when they get older or are unable to hunt in the wild, they may target easy prey like cattle. Similarly, if their canines are broken or their paws injured, they may attack humans or livestock only when they are in distress,” he explained, adding that tigers do not usually identify humans as prey.

“In most cases, the tiger confuses people crouching in fields with deer or other prey,” he said.

A fifth wolf was captured on Tuesday as part of the ongoing ‘Operation Bhediya’ in Bahraich’s Mahasi tehsil.

The wolf was caught near the Ghaghra River, close to Harabnspur village, using pugmark tracking techniques, Divisional Forest Officer Ajit Pratap Singh told PTI.

To track the movement of the pack, the department has deployed 165 forest personnel and 18 shooters, with thermal camera-equipped drones and snap cameras aiding the search.