Bears coming into conflict with people in Kashmir

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Bear menace plagues Kashmir villages

Submitted by kashif on Mon, 2006-11-20 21:36.

Features<http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/features>

 

By F. Ahmed

 

Srinagar, Nov 20 (IANS) Wild bears have become a menace to villagers in

northern Jammu and Kashmir as three people were killed and dozens wounded by

the beasts in the last fortnight.

 

A bear entered Saidpora village near here while a wedding was in progress

Saturday. It injured a woman, got into a house and took refuge in the attic.

Hundreds of villagers hooted until the bear left the residential area and

disappeared into the orchards around the village.

 

A woman in Kondabal village, around 27 km from here, was also attacked by a

wild bear. Badly mauled, the woman succumbed to injuries at a hospital.

 

In Handwara district, a bear snatched a child from his father's lap last

week when he had gone out in the dark. The child's body was recovered the

next morning from a nearby field.

 

More than three-dozen villagers have reportedly been wounded by bears in the

districts of Kupwara, Baramulla and Srinagar.

 

Under wildlife protection laws, killing a bear is punishable with

imprisonment and fine.

 

" People are living in mortal fear of these beasts who are entering populated

places as food has become scarce in forests, " said a wildlife department

official here.

 

The population of bears and other wild animals seems to have increased in

the last two decades since poaching and hunting has stopped in Kashmir due

to the ongoing separatist violence.

 

" The wildlife protection department is unable to help the locals when these

wild animals descend on populated areas. The department should have

constituted special teams to tranquillise these animals and relocate them

into their natural habitats, " said Shabir Ahmad, a resident of Haripora

village, 27 km from here.

 

" The police often come to the rescue of the people when these wild bears

show up. The police have little option other than shooting them down to

protect lives and property, " he told IANS.

 

Ahmad said bears visit his apple orchard regularly at night. " They have

destroyed many of my apple trees as they peel off the delicate epidermis of

these trees. "

 

All villagers can do is use hooters and beat canisters to scare the bears

away during the night. Parents lock their houses after dark to prevent

children from venturing out.

 

" It is a highly risky situation. Children are after all children. They do

not understand the dangers around. The situation becomes worse during power

cuts. I have been hearing a bear howl outside my home for the last one

week, " said Qasim Khatana of Gund village, 54 km from here.

 

Bears are known to hibernate during the winter months but despite the cold

beginning to set in, there are reports of the animal still on the prowl.