Prowling bear scares villagers

MYSURU: The movement of a sloth bear in agricultural fields and near human habitats, during night hours, in villages of Hanur taluk in Chamarajanagar district has been scaring residents in the last few days.

Villagers, who were already worried over the human-animal conflict, panicked as the wild bear barged into school kitchens and petty shops in search of food. They have stopped venturing out of their homes at night.

The movement of a sloth bear during the night was captured in the CCTV cameras of various villages of the Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary area, like Hanur Buffer Zone, Ramapura and Hoogyam Wildlife Division.

The sloth bear was first spotted in Nellore and it attempted to break the doors of various homes. After the attack of villagers, from Nellur it escaped to Nalroad village and later to Ajjipura village. The forest officers rescued it from Ajjipura and released it into deep forests on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border. However, two days later, the sloth bear again appeared in Sandanapalya village.

The villagers believe that the sloth bear, which was released by the forest officers at Karnataka-Tamil Nadu forest, has escaped from the area and possibly entered various villages of Hanur taluk.

The bear removed the roof tiles of houses in Sandanapalya and drank edible oil after barging into the school kitchen. Now, it is often spotted by villagers in Mahadeshwara temple and near the school in Sandanapalya.

Panicked by the presence of the sloth bear in various villages of Hanur taluk, now residents demanded the forest department officials take immediate action to place cages to relocate the wild bear before attacking villagers and school students.

MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Chandrashekhar Patil told TOI that his department officials have been making all efforts to capture the sloth bear, which has been tormenting various villagers of Hanur Tauk in their limits for the past one month.

His department has also placed cages in the villages, wherever it was spotted. The forest department, along with elephant task force personnel are working day and night to capture the sloth bear. Speaking to TOI, MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary deputy conservator of forests G Santhoshkumar said that his department suspected that the sloth bear had been injured and struggling to hunt animals for food. “Soon it will be captured and relocated to a biological park for its rehabilitation,” he said.