A bear strayed into the town here in the wee hours on Monday, sending panic waves among residents.
Taken aback at the sight of the wild animal at the bus stand at 3 a.m., a group of people chased it into the bus depot and locked it up. Using a heap of gravel, the bear climbed up the tree in the corner of the compound and remained still.
Meanwhile, RTC officials and police arrived on the spot and kept a watch on the bear’s movement. On their request, forest officials from Warangal Zoo park reached and after shooting tranquillisers, brought it down. The animal was shifted to the Zoo Park in Hanamkonda.
Civil sub inspectors Rajesh and Srinivas and forest officer G Ramalingam helped rescue the bear. Forest officials said bears are found more in rocky areas in Jangaon district and owing to shortage of drinking water, the animal might have strayed into the residential area.