TENKASI: A sloth bear attacked three persons in Pethanpillai Kudiiruppu village on the foothills of Western Ghats near Gadana dam on Sunday. Two are said to in critical condition after sustaining deep wounds on the face and head.
Sources said one of the injured, Vaikundamani, was on his way to sell snacks and masala products to stores when the sloth bear attacked his two-wheeler, and mauled him on his head. Seeing this, 20 residents rushed to rescue him. The bear attacked two Nagenthiran and Sailappan among them. A video clip in which the bear is sitting on one of them and mauling the face also went viral on social media.
After the trio was sent to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital, villagers staged a road blockade in front of the Kadayam forest range office in Sivasailam. They alleged the forest officials failed to keep the solar fence functional and did not maintain the trench, dug to prevent animal intrusion along the forest area.
The villagers dispersed after former Alangulam MLA PG Rajendran, Deputy Superintendent of Police Alangulam Ponnarasu, Tenkasi Tahsildar Athinarayanan and forest Ranger Karunamoorthy assured them that they would take steps to catch the sloth bear. Forest officials and police, with the help of veterinarians from Tirunelveli Veterinary College and Research Centre, captured the sloth bear later by administering a sedative. About 20 days ago, a woman was similarly attacked by a sloth bear in Kottaivilaipatti village near Kadayam.