Sajid Raina
Bandipora, May 26: Wildlife Department authorities Thursday afternoon caught alive a brown bear from Shahgund village of Hajin in Bandipora district, officials said.
An official said that the team was sent to the area following information about the sighting of a brown bear in human habitation. “After hours of hectic efforts, the team succeeded in tranquilising the animal and subsequently trapped it,” he said.
The official said that the bear will be shifted to one of the wildlife sanctuaries based in Kashmir where it will be released.
“It is a giant bear and forced us to chase a 20 kilometers radius throughout the day,” he added.
Meanwhile, locals said the animal was roaming in the area for the last few days.
Brown bears are present in 23 protected areas in the northern states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttaranchal, but only in two of these the bears are regarded as fairly common.
The Wildlife Department has noted sightings and spread of the brown bear in the last few years in its habitats including the high mountains of Sonamarg-Drass-Kargil.
