When all countries around the globe think of out-of-the-box solutions to conserve nature, India seems to be the only country which appears to be doing the opposite. The killing of a bear in the Nilgiris (“ >Bear shot dead near Kotagiri ,” some editions, March 25) is a good example. The bear is a species that is not as swift and furious as the tiger. The forest officials concerned would have had enough time to tranquillise the rogue animal and it could have been saved and sent to a zoo.
T. Anand Raj,
Chennai
The incident shows that it has become routine for forest officials to conveniently kill captured or rescued animals. Why were tranquilliser guns not used? With the man-animal conflict growing, forest departments around India must be alert and ready with options. Instead, one often comes across reports where forest officials cave in to public pressure and shoot. People also get into a frenzy and often hound the animal with sticks, stones and beat it to death. This sends out wrong signals. There must be action against officials for creating chaos and for the death of a protected animal.
