Bear escapes from Bhopal's Van Vihar

Agencies

Bhopal: A sloth bear escaped from the Van Vihar National Park here on Friday after pushing through a weak link. The forest officials so far have failed to trace the wild beast.

The bear was lodged at the park's Bear Rescue Centre run by Wildlife SOS, an NGO, under an agreement with the forest department.

The Van Vihar has a six-feet wall with a six-feet chain link fencing that forms a boundary around the park.

Most of the staffers were at home on their weekly off Friday, and had to be rushed to the park on hearing about the incident, but their night-long efforts to trace the bear bore no fruits.

The park has 37 bears - 18 males, 14 females and five cubs - rescued under the Wildlife Protection Act from the custody of their nomadic masters, better known as Kalandars or bear trainers who make the animals perform tricks. The animals were kept in the rescue centre run by Wildlife SOS, which has hired special caretakers and a veterinary doctor to look after the animals, most of them Himalayan sloth bears.

Van Vihar Assistant Director AK Khare said the park staffers could not he held responsible since the entire responsibility of managing the bears is with Wildlife SOS.

This is the third time a bear has managed to escape from the rescue centre. However, on the previous two escapes, the bears were caught by the park's rescue squad.