Sins of the previous life, got a second life… 28 years ago wolves created terror, remembering it still makes the soul tremble

New Delhi: These days wolves have created terror in Bahraich, UP. In the last few days, 10 people including 9 children have died due to wolf attacks. People in the entire area are scared and frightened. Hundreds of forest department employees are trying to catch the wolves. People are being asked to stay indoors. The recent terror of wolves reminded us of the horrific incident of 28 years ago when more than 60 children were preyed upon by wolves in Pratapgarh and its surrounding Sultanpur and Jaunpur districts. This horrific incident happened in the year 1996, but even today people get goosebumps remembering it.

People have been living in the shadow of fear for 28 years

The year was 1996, Tiwaripur Kala village of Pratapgarh… Even today the people here live in fear. 28 years ago, this village was the most affected by the terror of wolves. The memories of that incident still frighten the people of the village. Many people are still afraid to step out of their houses in the dark. Kanhaiya Lal, an elderly resident of Tiwaripur Kala, while talking to a private media channel said that we feel that it must have been some sin of our previous life that we had to see this day. Recalling that horrific time, he/she says, those were the most horrific days of our lives, when children were not safe even in their mother’s lap. During that time more than 60 children died.

There was terror of wolves in many districts

Kanhaiya Lal further explains, ‘Our village, Raniganj, Patti, Vishwanathganj and even villages in neighbouring districts like Sultanpur and Jaunpur were not untouched by this threat. The terror of wolves did not subside until the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department intervened.’

‘Narrowly escapes wolf attack’

Mukesh Yadav, 52, who lives in the same village and narrowly escaped the wolf attack, shudders when he/she remembers the night that changed his/her life. Mukesh Yadav said, ‘I was 24 years old and was sleeping in my field at midnight when a wolf attacked me. he/she tried to grab my neck, but before he/she could sink his/her fangs into my neck, I managed to push him/her away and save myself. But the trouble did not end here. The wolf pounced on me again and this time he/she grabbed my thigh. I tried very hard to free myself from him/her, but he/she did not move at all.’

Mukesh further said that luckily a villager present nearby noticed the wolf and made noise. Hearing the noise, the forest department team immediately reached the spot and the wolf ran away on seeing them. Narrating his/her ordeal, Mukesh says that I really feel that I got a second birth that night. he/she said, I am grateful to the forest department team who saved my life. If they had not reached on time, I would probably not have been alive today.

The forest department ran the operation for 8 months

VK Singh, former warden of the Forest Department of Prayagraj region of UP, recalls the operation conducted in the 1990s to catch the man-eating wolves and says that it was the most difficult operation in the history of the state’s forest department. More than 100 forest personnel were involved in this operation, which lasted for about eight months and ended in the forests of Jaunpur. During this, about 42 children were killed and the forest department killed about 13 man-eating wolves, only after which this terror ended. VK Singh further says that this operation to catch the wolves was conducted on the banks of the Sai River, which is located on the border of Jaunpur, Pratapgarh and Sultanpur. Both wolves and jackals lived around the villages of this area.

Why do wolves prey on humans?

What happened that wolves started hunting humans? Singh explains, ‘We believe that such incidents often happen in search of easily available food, especially when the female wolf is pregnant or has given birth to a child.’ Singh further explains, during these days, the female wolf and her children are unable to hunt, so the male wolf goes out in search of food. In such a situation, human children are weak compared to other prey and it is easy for the male wolf to hunt them. Once the child is killed, the male wolf eats twice his/her capacity, i.e. twice the normal amount of food and after returning to the den, spits out the half-digested food for the female wolf and the children.

Singh explains, ‘After eating human flesh, knowingly or unknowingly the wolf pack gets used to it and starts liking it, so the wolves continue to hunt children. This dangerous cycle makes the wolves a constant threat as they start seeing human children as their main source of food.’