Abbas Mohammed busy picking dates on Sunday with five older boys in the village of Al-Ahamer when the animal attacked them. All except Mohammed managed to flee.

“The wolf attacked the boy, lunging at his neck,” witness Kadum Mohammed, 20, told AFP, adding that it was the first time such an attack had occurred in the area.

Dr Mohammed Jassem, from the hospital in Hilla 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad, confirmed receiving the boy’s body. Jassem said the child’s abdomen had been completely torn open by the wild animal.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hPRI-uplWPtXANy3cQZFhHp-XdtQ?docId=CNG.2cbd38ae773d89f0471f8d31c2513c98.61

Baby Rukmanna was sleeping under a tree in a field near Belur village. Rukmanna’s mother Siddamma had come to work in the field. She fed him and left him sleeping under the tree. At 4pm, she went to take the child but to her shock, he was missing.

When she informed villagers , they joined her in searching for the child but they couldn’t find him.

On Friday morning, a villager out to attend nature’s call found some wolves in the vicinity . When he returned with other villagers, they found the baby’s skull.

A villager Malakanna Einolli said, “We’ve been facing severe attacks by wolves and boars. Last year, a 5-year-old boy was bitten by wolves. The boy was admitted to hospital and survived.”

Forest department officials haven’t visited the village, said Malakanna. Gulbarga Rural police visited the village and registered a case.

Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-25/bangalore/33385066_1_village-wolves-gulbarga

Eighty-nine-year-old Ozodamoh Saidnurulloeva was being attacked by a wolf in her yard before a neighbor scared it away.

NAVOBOD, Tajikistan — At least six people have been attacked by wolves in southeastern Tajikistan in the last several weeks, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports. A survivor of one of the wolf attacks, Ozodamoh Saidnurulloeva, told RFE/RL that “before the wolves only attacked livestock; now they have started attacking humans.”
Saidnurulloeva, 89, said she walked into her yard early one morning this week to prepare for the Muslim morning prayer when a wolf attacked her, knocked her down, and dragged her for several meters.

She said she thought the wolf was the “angel of death.”

A neighbor who happened to be outside saw the attack and started screaming for help. The wolf then left Saidnurulloeva and ran away.

Saidnurulloeva has a doctor checking the bite wounds on her neck, hands, and fingers.

Uktambek Temurbekov, chief doctor in Saidnurulloeva’s village of Navobod, told RFE/RL that her current condition is satisfactory. He said the the wolf’s bite did not penetrate her bones and she is not in danger of getting an infection.

Locals in the Sijd and Rivak villages told RFE/RL they have pitchforks and shovels to fight wolves when necessary.

Law enforcement officers told RFE/RL that a special request has been sent to the Environmental Protection Department to send armed specialists to help reduce the wolf population in the area.

Department deputy chief Farkhod Mamadnazarbekov told RFE/RL on January 19 that he is personally coordinating the operation to neutralize the wolves in the region and expressed hope that the problem will be solved in three days.

Environment Protection Department officials in the southeastern Badakhshan Province say that in 2006 the local government stopped funding a program to kill wolves and therefore their numbers have dramatically increased.

The heavy snowfall in the region in the last several weeks forced the wolves to come down from the hills and mountains to local villages where they have attacked livestock and people.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/tajikistan_wolf_attacks/24457676.html

Yakutia, Russia – The growing population of gray wolves in Russia’s northern republic of Yakutia has killed more than 1,700 domestic reindeer since the beginning of the year, a spokesman for the republic’s veterinary department said on Thursday.

“Usually, wolves attack reindeer grazing on pastures,” he said, adding that 1,760 reindeer, more than one hundred horses and five cows have been killed by wolves since the beginning of 2012.

The size of the wolf population in Yakutia, currently about 4,000, exceeds the target level at least threefold. The population is increasing by about 500 new wolves each year.

The annual damage the wolves inflict on Yakutia’s livestock is approximately 147 million rubles ($5 mln). The local authorities have allocated 17.75 million rubles ($600,000) this year to control wolf population.

Source: http://en.ria.ru/Environment/20120419/172911513.html

Temperatures in Verkhoyansk can plummet to -49C and experts said the wolves may have been forced together through a lack of food

A ‘super pack’ of wolves has been terrifying a town after leaving more than 30 horses dead in just four days. Four hundred wolves have been spotted prowling around the edges of Verkhoyansk, in Russia, attacking livestock at will. Twenty four teams of hunters have been put together to get rid of the wolves, with a bounty of £210 for every wolf skin brought to officials.

Stepan Rozhin, an administration official for the Verkhoyansk district in Russia, said: ‘To protect the town we are creating 24 teams of armed hunters, who will patrol the neighbourhood on snowmobiles and set wolf traps.

‘But we need more people. Once the daylight increases, the hunters will start shooting predators from helicopters.’

A pack of wolves this size is unheard of, with the animals usually preferring to hunt in smaller groups of just six or seven.

The massive group is believed to be made from hundreds of packs and has left animal experts baffled.

Dr Valerius Geist, a wildlife behaviour expert, said the harsh Siberian winter – where temperatures plummet to minus 49C – had killed off the animal’s usual prey.

He said: ‘It is unusual for wolves to gather in such numbers of hunt large animal like horses.

‘However, the population of their usual prey, rabbits, has decreased this year due to lack of food, so wolves have had to change their habits.

‘Wolves are very careful to choose the most nutritious food source easiest obtained without danger – which in this case happens to be horses.

‘They will start tackling dangerous prey when they run out of non-dangerous prey.’

Villagers have already managed to snare a number of the animals but the pack is so sizeable that is likely to take some time to deal with.

Verkhoyansk, with a population of just 1,300, is one of the coldest and remotest places in the northern hemisphere and lies within an area known as Stalin’s Death Ring, after the former dictator sent political exiles there due to the extreme conditions.

VANCOUVER, CA – Residents and tourists in Tofino and Ucluelet, on Vancouver Island, are being warned to keep a close eye on their children and pets after two dogs were killed during the night, possibly by wolves. On Tuesday, Parks Canada and the B.C. Conservation Service warned people to keep their dogs on leashes and under supervision at all times.

On Saturday night, a chihuahua had been let out into a Tofino backyard when it was snatched by a predator. No carcass was found, said conservation officer Brittany Mueller, so the predator can’t be positively identified.

The chihuahua’s owner was contacted but declined to comment on the incident.

But then, early on Monday morning, a pit bull terrier died after it was mauled by a wolf. The dog was out at night unsupervised and may have been tied up in a yard, Mueller said.

There have not been wolf attacks like this in recent memory, Mueller said.

“It’s that time of year when we have to be aware the predators are out, and the bears will be waking up soon,” said Mueller.

“We want to educate the public on wolf safety and steps to take to avoid conflict.”

A lone wolf was recently sighted at the lighthouse near Ucluelet and another near an undeveloped golf course. A wolf was also seen in a Ucluelet parking lot.

“It is not yet known whether the increase in wolf activity in nearby communities will correspond with higher than normal wolf activity inside the park reserve,” said parks spokeswoman Renee Wissink in a statement.

Longtime Tofino resident Ken Gibson said the predation by wolves and cougars this year is “quite serious.”

Wolves used to be spotted far from town, but today, wolves are routinely spotted in developed areas.

“They’re a totally different animal than a cougar,” Gibson said Tuesday.

“A cougar is a real coward, but these wolves in a pack are a different thing. They’re a bunch of bullies.”

Wolves used to be hunted and as a result their numbers dwindled. As their numbers increase, so does the potential for run-ins with people and pets.

Gibson said he understands people don’t like to see wolves killed “but it won’t be very good when some kid is (killed by a wolf).”

Decades ago, a cougar methodically hunted dogs in Tofino “and did away with every one except two,” Gibson said.

Parks Canada reminds the public never to approach a wolf or cougar. If an animal approaches, back away slowly while maintaining eye contact and making noise. Wave arms to appear larger.

People are urged to carry pepper spray and an air horn to scare away wolves and cougars.

On Aug. 29, 2011, a Ucluelet toddler was attacked by a cougar in Pacific Rim National Park. He suffered head injuries but survived.

In another incident, a female jogger running on a country road was circled for 10 minutes by a cougar before a car came and scared it away.

smcculloch(at)timescolonist.com

Norwegian Nature Inspectorate confirms: Elkhound Wendy was killed by wolves 500 yards from the Lindeberg property

Based on what we can see, the dog was killed by a wolf, said Jan Wilberg in the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate. He believes it only deals with one wolf.
OSLO, Norway – At 5:30 o’clock Monday morning was the owner, Oddbjørn Rosendal, out to look for his dog that had not been recovered. Along with labrador Kanga, they managed to track down the body of Wendy, who was found a few hundred meters from the parking lot to Birch housing.

First time

Wilberg says that this is the first time they sign that a dog is killed by wolves in Oslo.

- This is unique in Marka area, but in Akershus, we have experienced this several times, he said.

Oddbjørn Rosendal had not imagined that there could be a wolf in Østmarka in Oslo.

- I will admit that it was not in my mind, he said.

Best Friend

Rosendal was battered when he showed off the body of Wendy, a dog he describes as his best friend in the woods.

The killing marked by struggle, and there was a lot of blood in the snow.

- A wolf is unfortunately very much stronger than a dog, and I hope that this went quickly, he said.

*

Source: http://www.groruddalen.no/wendy-ble-drept-av-ulv-paa-lindeberg.5028848-77747.html

TRANSLATED FROM RUSSIAN WITH GOOGLE: The authorities in Altajrepubliken have budgeted 2 million rubles to decimate the wolf population. Small villages in the area are constantly visited by hundreds of wolves and the damage is extensive.

In the southern parts of central Russia is wolf a recurring problem for people in rural areas. The authorities in Altajrepubliken has allocated 2 million rubles to move as quickly as possible to address the most pressing problems in the region where the severe winter had wolves that in large groups go into the villages in their hunt for food.

The population of the region is expected to more than 1000 individuals according to the authorities in Altajrepubliken. The wolves causing great damage among farmers with domestic animals but also among the wild animals’ offspring. Although hunting is ongoing throughout the year is the trigger pull is not sufficient to control the population.

Oskygga and costly

According to authorities, experts have wolves lost their natural shyness of humans which is an undesirable development. They also counted a little of what wolf population mean in lost meat for the local economy.

An average wolf consume according to their calculations, approximately 340 kilograms of meat per year (Reds note. Low weight but is probably due to availability). A kilo of meat costs in the local market around 150 rubles (85 kr), which means that the wolves are consuming meat at a market value of more than 112 000 rubles (27 500) per year.

Bounty

The authorities have in their budget set aside 2 million rubles (490 000) to fight the wolves in the area. For a wounded wolf, a sum of 3000 rubles (735 billion) to be paid. In some particularly affected areas, local representatives of the administration to pay an additional 1 000 rubles (245 billion) to thereby create an additional incentive for killing wolves where the problems are greatest.

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Photo: RIA Novosti

Moscow, Russia - A pack of wolves attacked inhabitants of a Russian provincial town on Tuesday, cornering some residents in buildings until police came to the rescue, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday.

The wolves were reported by local residents from several locations in the city of Petrozavodsk, some 660 kilometres north-west of the capital Moscow.

The carnivores forced some residents to take cover in an apartment building and a hotel, police responding to the scene found. The officers were ultimately forced to open fire to clear out the wolves.

One of the wolves attacked police officers and was shot dead. The remainder of the pack took cover in a nearby forest, the report said.

Wolves are widely considered a pest in Russia and, outside of nature preserves, are hunted legally, sometimes with the government paying a pelt bounty.

Attacks on humans are rare. Those that do generally take place in Russia’s sparsely inhabited central Siberian and Far Eastern districts.

Source: http://news.monstersandcritics.com/europe/news/article_1688271.php/Wolves-attack-corner-residents-of-Russian-town

Photo: RIA Novosti

THE VOICE OF RUSSIA – Residents of the city of Sisian, in the south of Armenia, try not to go out at night for fear of wolves, according to local media reports.

Due to heavy snowfall wolves can not find food in the mountains and at night enter the town in search of food.

The wolves have started to prey on stray dogs as a source of food.

So far there have not been any reported cases of attacks on humans.

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2012/02/16/66170273.html