Forest rangers in India have deployed drones to track wolves after the animals killed nine people, mostly children, in recent weeks, officials said on Sunday.
The latest victim was a 10-month-old girl who was snatched by a wolf on Saturday in Bahraich district of northern Uttar Pradesh state while she was sleeping next to her mother, they said.
The child was later found dead in a field.
A day earlier, a five-year-old boy was kidnapped in front of his mother outside their home.
A child found mutilated in a sugar cane field died on the way to hospital.
Officials said the attack followed the same pattern as several villages reporting similar incidents since September.
The latest deaths bring the number of victims of suspected wolf attacks in Bahraich to at least nine in three months, according to police, forestry officials and media reports.
An elderly couple was also among the victims.
Forest officer Ram Singh Yadav told AFP on Sunday that authorities had deployed drones, camera traps and shooters in the area.
“The behavior of the wolves seems to have changed. These days, they can be seen active during the daytime, which is strange,” Yadav said.
Other forestry officials said the animals appeared unusually brave.
Bahreich saw similar wave of attacks Last year, a pack of wolves killed at least nine people, including a one-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, and injured several others. At the time, authorities warned people against sleeping outdoors or traveling alone at night, but some homes in the area don't even have doors and many don't have indoor toilets, leaving residents with no choice but to go outside to relieve themselves at night.
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The grassland plains of the Bahraich region lie about 30 miles south of the Nepal border, where dense forests cover the foothills of the Himalayas.
Experts say wolves attack people or livestock only as a last resort when they are starving, preferring less dangerous prey such as small antelope.
Most of India's estimated 3,000 wolves survive outside protected areas, often in close proximity to people.
The animals, also known as the plains wolf and considered vulnerable, are smaller than the stronger Himalayan wolf and can be mistaken for other species such as jackals.
Villagers in Bahraich say they now live in mortal fear of wolves lurking near their homes.
“Our children are not safe even inside the house,” said one resident.
“We just want the attacks to stop.”
While attacks by big cats and elephants in India are not uncommon, wolf attacks are uncommon. As a result, more than 300 people died tiger attacks in the country from 2018 to 2022.
Experts say the expansion of cities and villages into wilderness, reducing the natural habitats and hunting grounds of many species, is a major contributing factor to the increase in human-animal encounters.
