Farmer held on charge of poisoning sloth bear to death

Kendrapada: A farmer was arrested on Wednesday on the charge of poisoning a male sloth bear to death at Dalijoda forest range in Jajpur district, forest officials said. Sloth bears are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which offers them the highest level of legal protection.The bear’s body was found by the local residents at Nalita hillock under Kaimatia gram panchayat on Wednesday morning. After being alerted, forest department personnel rushed to the spot and recovered the carcass.Preliminary investigation suggests that poison-laced fruits had been placed in the forest to kill wild boars, which often damage standing crops. It is one such pesticide-laced cashew apple (lankaamba), the sloth bear mistakenly consumed, resulting in its death, officials said.Tapan Lenka (45) of Nalida village has been arrested in this connection under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to placing pesticide-laced cashew apples to kill wild boars to protect paddy fields and vegetable crops, said Dalijoda forest range officer Satyananda Subudhi.“We are investigating the case and more people could be arrested,” Subudhi said.The bear’s body has been sent to the veterinary hospital at Bair for postmortem. “The exact cause of death will be confirmed after the autopsy report is received,” the forest officer said.Officials said the use of poison-laced bait has become a major cause of death not only of boars but also other wild animals.Terming the incident a matter of concern, Sudhanshu Parida, secretary of the district unit of People For Animals, said sightings of bears in villages adjoining forest areas were not unusual. “The nearby forests are home to several bears. Killing a bear by poisoning is extremely disturbing. All creatures, big or small, are integral to the ecosystem,” he said, adding that inadequate patrolling and monitoring by forest officials also contributed to such incidents.Parida further said human-wild boar conflict remains a complex and persistent issue in villages around forest areas, with crop raiding being the most common trigger. “As many agricultural fields are close to forest habitats, wild boars and sloth bears often stray into farmlands in search of paddy, sugarcane and vegetables, resulting in crop loss, and injuries or deaths of humans, and retaliatory killing of animals,” he said.