BENGALURU: Two sloth bears were killed on Thursday in Kanakapura Range of Ramanagara forest division after crude bombs exploded in their mouths. The crude bombs concealed in chicken waste were kept in an agricultural field, 10 km from the forest, as bait to trap and kill wild boars.
The male and female bears, both around 5 years old, entered the field and were attracted by the smell of the chicken waste. While trying to dig their teeth into it, the bombs exploded ripping apart their heads.
Four to five bombs placed in the chicken waste had been strewn in the field so that animals like wild boars are attracted by the smell. In these regions, hunting and killing of wild boars is common, especially after a recent government order allowing farmers to kill wild boars in village limits.
Forest officials told Express that a case has been filed against two farmers under Section 2 of Wildlife Protection Act for causing death of Schedule 1 protected animals.
Range Forest Officer of Kanakapura Range Dinesh said, “Our staff were patrolling this area. After an alert from a guard, we found the badly mutilated remains of the bears in Thamsandra Circle village. Following the order to kill wild boars, farmers have been placing crude bombs in their fields but in the process, other protected wildlife are in danger. Even humans could have been maimed or badly hurt if they had stepped on this bomb.”
Praveen Bhargav, a Trustee with Wildlife First said, Anticipating such threats to wildlife, we wrote to the government seeking immediate modification of the blanket orders to kill wild pigs.