The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Sloth bear, cubs plunge to death

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Thursday, Nov 20, 2008
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Sloth bear, cubs plunge to death

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Three sloth bears — a mother and her two cubs — were found dead in a disused open well of a farm in Dodderi near Tavarekere on Wednesday. The carcasses were in a decomposed state. The site is a farm owned by a Bangalore resident, 10 km away from Ramadevarabetta in Ramanagara where the Forest Department has proposed a sloth bear sanctuary.

The carcasses were discovered when passers-by were hit by the stench for the past three days.

Deputy Conservator of Forests (Bangalore Urban) R.K. Srivastava and Assistant Conservator of Forest B. Jayaram came to the spot along with a team of veterinary doctors. The Forest Department personnel removed the carcasses and later conducted postmortem. “It looks like the bears had fallen a week ago. They found it difficult to come out and died in there,” Mr. Jayaram said.

Although the villagers reported sighting of sloth bears and leopards, it is the first time that the department found evidence of it. The bears have been found in the rocks of the hilly terrain near the farm. “They might have strayed from the habitat and accidentally slipped down into the well,” Mr. Jayaram said. This farm is near Ramadevarabetta — a known habitat for sloth bears – and other fringes where the bears are found. A number of sloth bears are found in Ramanagara, Kanakapura and Sathanur. A proposal to declare Ramadevarabetta as a sloth bear sanctuary similar to Daroji Santuary in Bellary is pending with the State Government. Following the death of sloth bears, the department has started the work to find whether there are more bears around Tavarekere. The forest department has also initiated action against Shivanna, owner of the farm, for his negligence in keeping the well open. A few weeks ago a cow died after it fell into the well. The department has filed a complaint against Shivanna.

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