Forest officials release bear back to forest after hours-long rescue operation
Thursday, 25 APRIL 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN/LALKUAN
The rescue team of the Forest department tranquillized and safely rescued a female bear early on Wednesday which had strayed into a village near Lalkuan of Nainital district reportedly in search of water. The bear had come to the nearby populated area from the forest surrounded by the Terai Eastern Forest Division and Terai Central Forest Division. The deputy divisional forest officer of the Terai Eastern Forest Division, Anil Joshi said that an adult female strayed from the forest and came to the campus of a factory located in a nearby village which manufactures railway sleepers. The people in the residential campus of the factory were in shock after seeing the bear and people started shouting and running around in panic. The situation became chaotic in the campus but soon, somebody informed the forest department about the bear’s presence in the campus. Joshi said that after getting the information about the incident, forest officer Chandan Singh Adhikari reached the spot along with his rescue team and after hard work of several hours, the veterinary officer of the department Dushyant Kumar controlled the bear after tranquilizing it around 4 AM on Wednesday. The doctor subsequently checked its health and was later released to its natural habitat in the reserved forest area of Doli Range, Joshi said. It is pertinent to mention here that several wild animals are coming towards the populated areas in search of water with rising temperatures and drinking water crisis in the forests. Earlier, elephants, deer and leopards had also entered the residential areas which also created panic among nearby locals. Now with the bear’s entry in the village late on Tuesday, people are also afraid of going on late evening and early morning walks in the area.
