JANGAON: An adult sloth bear strayed into Jangaon town in the wee hours of Monday creating a mild commotion and fear among citizens. It took over three hours for officials of the Forest department and Kakatiya Zoo Park to capture the bear, who was later released into the Tadvai forest area of the Mulugu district.
According to Warangal Urban and Jangaon districts District Forest Officer (DFO) G Ramalinga, the wild bear was first noticed by the police personnel deployed at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). When the security personnel tried to shun it, the bear climbed a tree and remained there till the Forest department’s rescue team reached the spot. But as soon as the team tried to tranquilise the bear, it jumped from the tree and climbed another one inside the neighbouring RTC depot workshop, he explained.
“We came to know about the presence of the bear at around 6 am. The forest team from Warangal reached by 8.30 am to begin the rescue operation. The first attempt to tranquilise the bear failed as it soon gained consciousness. We only succeeded in the second time. Since there is no food for the bear population in Jangaon forests, we decided to shift it to denser forests of Tadvai,” the DFO informed. A team led by veterinarian Dr Praveen rescued the bear. It is believed that the bear might have entered the town from nearby Champak Hills in search of food and water.