PATNA: At least 150 villagers fled their homes in eastern India after a pack of hungry jackals attacked them, officials said on Wednesday.

At least a dozen jackals emerged from nearby forests in search of food and attacked six villages in the state of Bihar on Tuesday, biting at least 50 people.

“Many victims said they could only watch as the jackals unleashed terror and bit them on their hands and feet,” Krishna Murari Prasad, a local surgeon said.

Officials blamed the villagers in Gopalganj district, near the state capital Patna, for the behaviour of the jackals, saying local people had depleted the natural habitat of the animals by cutting down forests.—Reuters