The word ‘bear’ is just enough to send shivers down the spines of the people of Nellukudari, a small hamlet near Hagaribommanahalli in Hospet taluk of Bellary district. For, a bear has been giving sleepless nights to these villagers for the past ten days, perhaps for their own fault. It has already injured five persons. All efforts to nab this wild animal has proved futile. It has been playing ‘hide and seek’ with gun-toting police and forest personnel.
This incident is yet another example of man-animal conflict. Rapid urbanisation has resulted in the depletion of forest cover and wild animals are straying into villages in search of food. People are cultivating land on the fringes of forests and thereby disturbing the ecological balance. If elephants are creating problems in Hassan, Madikeri and Kanakapura areas, it is the bear menace in Bellary district.

Small hillocks, shrubs and natural caves are considered as safe havens for bears. The stretch between Koppal and Hampi is popularly known as ‘Kishkinda’, where there are about 200 bears. Bear population is quite strong in Gudekote, Sandur, Chilakanakatti and Bandri too. Usually these wild animals come out of their hiding after spring season and mate.

Otherwise harmless, bears get wild when they are disturbed while mating and attack people. A few years ago, a similar incident had taken place near Shiggaon in Haveri district when a bear attacked a few villagers walking in the forest area. Even then, both forest and police personnel had combed every inch of the small hillock, but returned empty-handed. Since then, bears had virtually disappeared from that area, migrating to the neighbouring areas where there was hardly any human interference. Villagers in search of minor forest produce and firewood enter forest areas and become victims of attack by wild animals. This is happening in spite of sufficient warning by the Forest Department.

Last week, a group of women saw a pair of bears happily playing in a field and raised an alarm. A group of youth armed with lathis and stones chased the bear. While the male bear managed to escape, the female bear was caught after 2-3 hours of chase. A rope was bound around the neck of the bear, and in the process hurt the bear. Probably, the male bear that witnessed the torture his partner was subjected to got wild and escaped from the scene. In the meantime, villagers informed the police and the forest officials who arrived at the scene with weapons to nab the bear. However, it escaped and went 10-12 km away from the village. When a group of people were busy searching the fields, the bear pounced on them and injured five persons.

Since then, both the police and the forest personnel are patrolling the entire area, but in vain. The nabbed female bear has already been shifted to the Daroji Wild Bear Sanctuary. Villagers are unable to sleep fearing further attacks by the male bear. They have even stopped going to the fields and are staying indoors after sunset.

The villagers are blaming the Forest Department for its ‘failure’ to nab the bear, forgetting the fact that it was they who are responsible for its wild behaviour.

There have been incidents of bears frequenting villages but going back to the wild after the police and the forest department personnel burst crackers. Three months ago, a person was attacked by a bear near Devalapura village and another bear was trapped at Kudligi in Bellary district.

According to the Wild Life Conservation Act 1972, bears are considered ‘Schedule-1’ animals and those who kill it are liable for seven years’ imprisonment. Of late, mining activities in Bellary district have disturbed the ecological balance of the area and forced the animals to enter villages in search of food.

The population of bears has come down drastically in the last 10-15 years and there is every chance of it becoming extinct if strict measures are not taken to protect them. No wild animals enter human habitation unless they are disturbed. In fact, no wild animal prefers to stay within the four walls of cages in zoos but likes to move freely in forests. There is an urgent need to create awareness among people that wild animals should not be disturbed at any cost.