Italian authorities have launched a manhunt using thermal drones and capture snares after a wild canid attacked three young children in the town of Noicattaro, near Bari, over an 11-day span. The attacks, occurring between Aug. 4 and Aug. 15, left two six-year-olds hospitalized — one in intensive care with chest wounds and another with fractured ribs.
Puglia regional president Antonio Decaro signed a decree authorizing the animal's capture, and a task force convened at the Bari prefecture is deploying forest rangers, drones, and capture equipment supplied by the Alta Murgia National Park. Investigators are unsure whether the animal is a wolf, a hybrid, or a feral dog.
Mayor Raimondo Innamorato imposed emergency restrictions, closing parks at night and banning access to green areas near farmland. DNA tests on the victims' wounds are underway at a zooprophylactic institute to identify the species.