Giving free hugs for freedom

Two-month-old bear cub warms up to people in Tirupati zoo after it was rescued from a tamer

The cub at the zoo in Tirupati

The newest inmate of Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati loves human company.

With thick hair, deep-set eyes and a frisky attitude, ‘Madhuri,’ a rescued bear cub has become everyone’s favourite.

Now in the isolation ward, the two-month-old female sloth bear cub was seized from a “bear tamer” near Kuppam, in Andhra Pradesh.

Unlike the familiar story of wild animals rescued from human habitations because they strayed into dwellings, the cub had a serendipitous rescue by a forest department official.

Chancing upon the captive bear, the official registered a case against the tamer and sent the animal to the park.

“The cub is kept in isolation to provide it medical care. It is being monitored for any disease, as it had been in contact with people. Post-quarantine, the cub will be shifted to an enclosure or relocated, based on what the authorities and the Chief Wildlife Warden think fit,” said SVZP Curator Y. Srinivasulu Reddy.

Freedom from bondage

While rescuing wild animals and caring for them in the zoo is not unusual – Mr. Reddy points to other sloth bears and leopards that have found a new home – rarely has such a young animal been rescued from someone who was using it as an exhibit, which is prohibited.

In the first couple of days of its arrival, zoo doctor and veterinary assistant surgeon S.P. Arun saw that the cub had been weakened by diarrhoea.

“Since then, it has responded well to treatment and is currently in good health. We are feeding it milk and glucose and helping it to tackle the summer heat. It has also been tagged for future monitoring,” he told The Hindu .

The cub took an instant liking to its enthusiastic caretakers, Dr. Arun said, probably because of its enforced human companionship.

“We do not know when it was separated from its mother and how long it was among these people. The cub is so used to human presence that it did not sleep the first day without holding my hand and had to be bottle fed,” he said.

Performing animals

At its refuge, the cub is being closely monitored by two caretakers who work shifts. Cubs like Madhuri are often kept captive for years, and used as roadside performing animals in many States.

In some cases, nomadic communities parade ‘dancing bears’ to make a living, and conservation efforts for these animals have focused on improving the economic conditions of the trappers.