According to the forest officials, these colourful teddy dolls were put in the areas near the river banks, where the wolves had their dens. ‘’The objective behind soaking the teddy dolls in children’s urine to draw the wolves, which may think them as live objects,’’ said a senior forest official in Baharaich on Monday.
Regional forest officer Ajit Pratap Singh said that the wolves had been changing their locations constantly. ‘’Usually they hunt during the nights and return to their dens early morning,’’ he added.
Singh said that these teddy dolls had been put near their dens so that the wolves remained away from residential areas.
The official said that the forest department had also pressed into service thermal drones to ascertain the locations of the wolves. ‘’We are using crackers and other methods to drive the wolves toward the traps set for them ... .since the wolves have specifically targeted the children, we are using the teddy dolls,’’ he said.
These teddy dolls were almost the size of the children and were kept near the cages or traps, he added. ‘’The wolves could be drawn toward the dolls after getting the scent of the children’s urine,’’ Singh said.
The wolves have so far killed ten people, mostly children, in the past few days in Mehsi tehsil of the district triggering panic.
The forest officials suspect that there is a pack of six wolves which has been killing people. The officials have managed to capture four wolves but two more are still on the prowl.
District officials had earlier said that doors were being installed at houses where there were no doors. Toilets were also being constructed in the affected villages.
Sources said that the parents had stopped sending their children to the schools after the killings. Some people had sent their children to their relatives’ homes. The women were not allowed to go out at night.
According to the locals, the killer wolves were active in the area where two wolf pups were crushed under the wheels of a tractor during ploughing a field a few months back.