In the wild world, it is a common refrain for the human visitors to be ware of the fury of female animals having cubs. For, those animals are violently protective about their offsprings and can go to any gory extent to protect them. It was proved true in case of the bear which was killed after mauling eight people to death in Kotpad area of Koraput district on Sunday.
For the tribals of the area, the bears straying into human habitation at this time of the year when jack fruit, sugarcane, mango and other fruits are in ripe condition is a common phenomenon.
According to sources, the female bear, which was mercilessly beaten to death, was first located roaming with its two offsprings in Birahandi jungle 10 days back. The bear family was also spotted in Girla, Samsijgam, Amalmunda and Anchalguda forest areas. Though the locals came face to face with the bear family, there was no violent reaction from the mother bear.
However, things changed on Saturday morning when the mother bear started roaring and entered Girila Handi and Anchalaguda village. In a highly aggressive mood, it went on mauling whosoever came its way as it was unable to trace its babies which had gone missing. According to the tribals, bears have been coming from jungles to human habitation during the harvest season of jack fruit, sugarcane, maize and return after the end of the season. But there has never been any bloody encounter of such kind in the history of Koraput.
Besides, the tribals treat the bears as friendly animals. Because of their such belief, the tribals did not suspect the bear’s behaviour and as usual passed by it unwittingly on those two days. But, the wild animal, which was not in its normal self, attacked them.
“I have been encountering bears in my crop fields for the last 30 years but have never come across such gory attack on human beings,” said Sukuriya Pradhan, a farmer of Girla.
Meanwhile, the Forest officials have launched a search operation to locate the missing bear babies in forest with the help of the villagers. “We have the information about missing cubs and are investigating into the matter,” said Jeypore DFO LN Mishra. However, whether it is basic beastly instinct of a wild animal or frustration of a mother over missing offsprings, the brutal attack of the bear which claimed eight human lives has left a scar in the memory of nature-loving tribals which would take a long time to be healed.
Top Officials Arrive
Koraput: Chief Conservator of Forests HK Bisht visited the villages in Kotpad block of Koraput district on Monday to take stock of the situation that had risen out of the bear-human conflict over the last two days.
Collector Sachin Jadhav and officers from the forest department assured people of all help to tackle attacks by wild animals in future.
Nabarangpur MP Pradip Majhi and School and Mass Education Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda distributed ` two lakh to each of the families of eight people who had died in the bear attack as compensation by the government.