Sloth bear with gunshot wound rescued near Pavagada

A five-year-old female sloth bear suffering from a gunshot wound was rescued from a village in Pavagada Taluk of Tumakuru district on Wednesday and is currently being treated at the Bear rescue centre in Bannerghatta in Bengaluru.

According to Suresh HM, RFO, Pavagada, a few of the villagers on the outskirts of Pavagada town on Tuesday spotted a sloth bear screaming in pain and dragging its feet near a hillock opposite to SSK College. “The villagers immediately alerted us and we summoned veterinarians from the Wildlife SOS centre who we have partnered with many times in the past to treat the injured bear and entrusted the bear’s care to them,” he said.

A preliminary diagnosis by the veterinarians revealed that the bear was hit with a deep bullet wound close to the spinal cord besides burn-like marks on its hind limbs. Forest officials surmised that the bear was perhaps shot by a panicked farmer after it entered his farm for food. As the wound was deep and severe, the veterinarians could not treat it on the spot and shifted the animal to Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre.

Arun A Sha, Director (Research and Veterinary operations), Wildlife SOS said, “The bullet wound has resulted in spinal injuries leading to the loss of movement in the hind limbs. As it was dragging its feet, there are abrasions on the knees. We are yet to get the X-rays to determine the extent of internal injuries.”

Kartick Satyanarayana, Co-founder and CEO of the organization said, “There was a serious threat to the bear’s life which would have been compounded in the absence of necessary treatment; any delay and she would not have survived. There need to be solid checkpoints set in place to ensure that innocent lives are not lost due to thoughtless actions.”