Dir residents hunt wild animals after attacks at children

Locals suspect hyenas or wolves are behind attacks

UPPER DIR:

Local residents have started shooting wild animals in the mountains of Upper Dir district after several children were attacked by a mysterious animal in the area.

On September 26, at least nine children were injured in Nehag Darra and Bebewar by a mysterious animal, creating widespread panic among the local residents.

They demanded of the K-P Wildlife Department to take action and help find the wild animal which was attacking their children. 

Reports of hyena or wolf attacks are widely circulating on social media as earlier news emerged that children in Mardan district had been attacked probably by a hyena.

These reports were rejected by the widlife department on the grounds that hyenas are nocturnal animal that prowl in the night and the question of daylight attacks are out of context largely.

Local residents, however, did not buy these explanations at least in Upper Dir and decided to deal with it in their own way.

On Thursday, armed villagers shot dead an animal after a child spotted it in the bushes and cried for help.

In what appears to be a jackal, the pictures of the dead animal were widely circulated on social media with captions of hyena and wolf.

When contacted, an official of wildlife department in Peshawar said that from the picture it was evident that it was neither a hyena nor a wolf.

“Hyena is not found in Dir Upper. It is mainly found in DI Khan and Bannu region of the province,” he said.