The Forest Department has confirmed the killing of a wolf that abducted a one-and-a-half-year-old girl from her home in Kandauli village under the Kaisarganj tehsil, about 40 km from the Bahraich district headquarters on Sunday early morning.
The animal was shot dead by a government sharpshooter after an intense 11-hour search operation on Sunday.
According to reports, at around 5 am the baby girl, who was sleeping beside her mother, was reportedly grabbed by the wolf and escaped in a nearby forest. As the mother woke up to her daughter’s screams and raised an alarm, villagers armed with sticks chased the predator but could not rescue the child. Bloodstains were later found about 200 meters from her house, but the child’s body was not recovered.
Following the attack, police and forest officials launched a massive search using drones and dog squads. By afternoon, villagers spotted the wolf hiding in a sugarcane field nearly four kilometers from the village and informed the authorities.
SDM Akhilesh Singh, Forest Ranger Omkar Yadav, and sharpshooter Arish reached the spot and used drone surveillance to track the animal. The shooter then neutralized the wolf with a single shot. Officials confirmed that the slain wolf was a female. However, locals claimed to have seen two more wolves in the area.
This latest incident adds to a series of wolf attacks that have terrorized the Bahraich district. So far this year, wolves have killed six people and injured around 30 others. Forest Department officials stated that four wolves were responsible for the recent spate of attacks—three have been killed, while one, though injured, remains at large.
Authorities continue to monitor the area as search efforts for the missing child and the remaining wolf are underway.