Sloth bear forces townfolk in Telangana village to stay indoors amid coronavirus lockdown

A female sloth bear, which had entered the town from a forest nearby, was spotted at Sarsilk, Sangam Basti, New Colony, Pocham Basti and an old cinema theatre in Kagaznagar on Tuesday.
The bear is said to have come looking for food. (Photo| EPS)
The bear is said to have come looking for food. (Photo| EPS)

ADILABAD: At a time when Telangana is combating coronavirus by imposing a state-wide lockdown, it’s not the police who’re prompting villagers in Kagaznagar to stay indoors, but a wild animal.

A female sloth bear, which had entered the town from a forest nearby, was spotted at Sarsilk, Sangam Basti, New Colony, Pocham Basti and an old cinema theatre in Kagaznagar on Tuesday. The movement of the bear triggered panic among the residents, forcing them to stay at home.

Upon being alerted, a rescue team from the Warangal Zoological Park on Tuesday found the bear near Thirandas theatre at 3:30 pm. It was darted and placed in a cage. It is currently under observation. Speaking to Express, Kagaznagar forest divisional officer M Vijay Kumar said that the bear was found at Pochambasti, beside Tiridandi cinema. A dozen forest officials were part of the rescue team.

The sloth bear is learnt to have entered the human habitation in search of food and water.  Water sources in the forests are drying up due to the onset of summer.

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