Bear attacks youths & shreds their bike in Karnataka before locals catch it

BENGALURU: Panic gripped Kodamballi village in Channapatna taluk of Ramanagara (Bengaluru South) district Saturday morning when a sloth bear strayed into human habitat and attacked two bike-borne youths. Hours later, a group of villagers managed to capture the animal and hand it over to the forest department.

According to the villagers, two youngsters riding a motorbike on the village outskirts were suddenly attacked by the bear. Though they managed to escape, the animal clung to the vehicle, forcing them to abandon it and flee. The bear later tore its seat apart with its claws.

Alarmed by the incident, the youths alerted others in the village. Within minutes, a large group of residents, armed with sticks and nets, rushed to the spot.

"The bear was still at the spot when all of us reached there. We alerted both forest and police officials. By the time we laid the net to capture the bear by surrounding it from all sides, a few youngsters, along with forest staff, overpowered the bear and trapped it in the net," explained a villager.
Police officials said that during the operation, a forest department staffer, Muthu Naik, and a villager, Thammanna, suffered injuries as the bear clawed at them. "They were rushed to a nearby medical facility where the doctors said both of them are out of danger," a police officer said.

The forest department later subjected the sloth bear to veterinary examination.