Recently, the forest officials of Dooars have noticed the unprecedented abundance of Asiatic Black Bears in Dooars since last month. The appearance of these wild animals in the local region is unparalleled according to the forest officials (Manas R Bannerjee, 2021). The Asiatic black bear also called the moon bear is a habitat of the Himalayas. During summer, these wild animals take shelter in forested hills or mountains and during winter it comes to the elevations of 1,500 km and rests there.

 

Figure 1 Asiatic Black Bear

(Source: Manas R Bannerjee, 2021)

Recently, it has been reported that black bears are coming to the residential areas of Dooars and the population has undoubtedly increased (Manas R Bannerjee, 2021). The abundance of this wild animal has been reported from 14 places in Dooars. The officials in some places were able to rescue them, but in some cases, they couldn’t trace the animals. After capturing them from, residence, the forest officials have released them to their appropriate place, Neora national park in Kalimpong. “The appearance of bears in the residential areas of Dooars is unprecedented and the reason is not clear to us”, explained by the Chief Conservator of Forest Wildlife (CCF), North Bengal, Rajendra Jakhar. The forest officials are guessing that the food crisis is leading the wild animals to invade the residential areas of Dooars (Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, 2021).

Figure 2: Death of bears due to food deprivation

(Source: Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, 2021)

The death of a bear in this region took place recently and the autopsy has revealed that the reason for the death is due to starvation. Hence, deprivation of proper food is one of the reasons for leaving their habitats. According to the people, who visit there regularly, the storms and heavy showers uphill are causing scarcity of food for the bears in this region. Incidences, such as beating the animals to death are also occurring along with the increased number of bears in this region. The Programme Coordinator for the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation has stated that the habitat of the Black bears is disturbed, and this is the reason they are coming down to the residential areas, but the exact reasons for the disturbance are not clear to the forest officials (Pinak Priya Bhattacharya, 2021). The forest officials are releasing the rescued bears and they are in search of a safe shelter, as stated by the programme coordinator. They are planning to tag radio frequency tags to the bears before releasing them, which will help the forest officials to trace them if necessary.

 

 

References

Manas R Bannerjee. (2021, December 20). Bears find in plains “Unprecedented”. Retrieved from The Statesman: https://epaper.thestatesman.com/3326353/Kolkata-The-Statesman/21ST-DECEMBER-2021#page/2/2

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya. (2021, November 29). 12 Asiatic black bears spotted in north Bengal in two weeks. Retrieved from https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/12-asiatic-black-bears-spotted-in-north-bengal-in-2-weeks/articleshow/87968890.cms