Wolves' attack on villagers brings safety warnings

Villagers attacked by wolves are cared for at Xinjiang People's Hospital on Tuesday. Zhu Yi / For China Daily

Wolves might strike again, an expert warned following a wolf attack on six households in a village in Fuyun county of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Four to six wolves attacked early on Monday morning, striking six households along a road and injuring six people, police said.

Yuan Guoying, a researcher from the Xinjiang Environmental Protection Institute, said wolves have their own territory. Only if they couldn't feed themselves would they come to villages for food, Yuan said.

"Wolves do not intend to attack humans, but they may change this habit after they attempt it once," said Yuan.

Lin Suzhen, who suffered the worst injuries in the attack, was bitten on the neck, nose and ear when she went out to check why her dog was barking. Several minutes later, her husband, Jing Wanfu, suffered arm and leg injuries when he tried to rescue Lin.

Ma Yujie, Jing's neighbor, and his father managed to kill one wolf. Ma was bitten on the face and an arm, but his injuries were not severe.

The injured villagers were treated at a local hospital, but Lin, because of the severity of her injuries, was later transferred to Xinjiang People's Hospital in Urumqi on Monday night.

Lin, after a two-hour operation late Monday night, was moved from the intensive care unit to a regular ward, but the bites will leave scars and her left ear is half gone, said Chen Juan, Lin's attending physician.

"There are 14 wounds, small but very deep," Chen said.

Wolf bite wounds can easily become infected because wolves often carry many bacteria, the doctor said.

This year, wolves have attacked villages in Fuyun county three times, killing many livestock, especially sheep, an officer at the forestry police station said. "But this has been the first attack on humans in decades," the officer said.

The forestry police said the wolves might have been searching for food because the county is suffering a drought and there is less wild prey than usual for the wolves.