(India) Two orphans who love being driven out into the wild

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Two orphans who love being driven out into the wild

March 18th, 2008 - 10:48 am ICT by admin

 

By Sanjeeb Baruah

New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) Two orphaned Asiatic black

bear cubs, Seppa and Seppi, raised in captivity, have

walked back to freedom in the wilderness of Arunachal

Pradesh as part of an experiment that has now made

rehabilitation of these endangered animals possible in

the country. Experts of the NGO Wildlife Trust of

India (WTI), who initiated this project in

collaboration with the forest department, said the

programme in the future will help authorities return

rescued bear cubs back to the wild, instead of keeping

them in zoos or lifetime care centres.

 

Rehabilitating these animals in lifetime care centres

required a huge amount of money, which has been a

serious concern for the state governments.

 

gThe government spends a huge amount of money on

these animals in captivity. Every year, at least five

bear cubs are rescued by the department and had to be

brought to the centres for their welfare,h said

N.V.K. Ashraf of WTI, who led the project team.

 

The successful rehabilitation of Seppa and Seppi is

expected to boost bear conservation and will be

replicated elsewhere in the country.

 

According to an estimate prepared by S. Sathyakumar, a

scientist with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII),

there are just about 7,000 Asiatic black bears in the

country.

 

Of the three other bear species in India, there are

only 500-700 Himalayan brown bears left and fewer than

500 Sun bears. There are about 14,000 sloth bears,

mostly in central and peninsular India.

 

All these bear species are listed in the Schedule I of

the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, providing them the

highest level of legal protection that can be given in

India.

 

According to Ashraf, the programme can be used for

rehabilitation of sloth bears in central India and

other bear range states.

 

The experiment in Khari Pong in Pakke tiger reserve,

some 150 km from state capital Itanagar, used human

surrogate mothers to give training to the bears, so

that they can protect themselves from predators and

gather food in the wild.

 

gA temporary rehabilitation site was built in Khari

Pong, which is a prime bear habitat, to acclimatise

the cubs to the environment.

 

gHere, the bears are given complete freedom, although

their movements are monitored through radio collars to

study behaviour.

 

gOnce they are accustomed to the area they gradually

stop visiting the site. However, there are other

factors that we also take into account,h Ashraf told

IANS in an interview.

 

The Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation

(CBRC) set up by WTI about seven years ago in 862-sq

km Pakke reserve, of which Khari Pong is a part, has

been an important wildlife rehabilitation centre in

the region.

 

Its other partners are the International Fund for

Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the forest department. The

rescued bears are brought to the centre at Pakke.

Those that are young and can be rehabilitated are sent

to Khari Pong while the older ones continue to live at

the centre.

 

gRecently, five more bear cubs have been sent to

Khari Pong for pre-release orientation,h said Ashraf.

 

Sathyakumar said: gBlack bears are poached for their

bile for use in traditional Chinese medicines.h

Human-bear conflicts are also on the increase.

 

gThe change in land-use pattern, especially for

cultivation of crops that usually has high nutritional

value, lure these animals to fruit orchards and maize

fields. As a result, conflicts are on the rise that

threaten the existence of bears.h

 

(Sanjeeb Baruah can be contacted at sanjeeb.b)