DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand’s hills are grappling with an alarming threat—bears. Traditionally perceived as omnivores, they are exhibiting unprecedented aggression. This behavioural shift has sparked fear among residents and wildlife officials.
Hot on the heels of reports of bear terror in Satpuli, Pauri district, a harrowing incident emerged from Rudraprayag, where two women were mauled. While bear encounters are not new in the mountains of Uttarakhand, their escalating intensity and frequency are.
The Forest Department officials said, “On-site evidence and the circumstances of the attacks suggest the bear has abandoned its inherent nature, transforming into a ferocious, fully carnivorous predator.”
RK Mishra, PCCF Wildlife, Uttarakhand Forest Department, elaborated on the crisis. “The attack on so many cattle by a bear in Satpuli within such a short span is a first.
The Forest Department has initiated compensation procedures and deployed a team to capture the bear. If it remains untrapped, orders have been issued to eliminate it. The bear’s current aggressive display also poses a significant threat to school children and other locals, creating palpable fear in the region.”
Ranganath Pandey, former Deputy Director of Gangotri National Park and a Wildlife Management gold medallist from WII, shed light on the phenomenon. “This period usually precedes the bears’ hibernation, when they prepare by gathering enough food to sustain them for the next three to four months,” Pandey explained.
“However, the worrying trend is that due to their changing nature, bears are now active and aggressive year-round in the mountains, not just during this crucial pre-hibernation phase.” This indicated a deeper, more pervasive change in their natural instincts, he said.
Over the past 25 years, bears have claimed 68 lives and severely injured 1,972 individuals in Uttarakhand. Livestock attacks are exponentially higher. Some years have seen more than 100 human attacks, with 120 people injured in 2009 alone.