Uttarakhand to study bear behaviour

Amid a rising number of bear attacks in Uttarakhand over the past two months, the state forest department has decided to conduct an extensive study on the behaviour of the black Himalayan bear to find a long-term solution to the conflict between humans and wildlife.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

This comes days after a woman lost her left eye and partially lost vision in her right eye after she was seriously injured in a bear attack while collecting grass in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.

Ranjan Kumar Mishra, the state’s Chief Wildlife Warden, said, “With the help of wildlife experts, the forest department will conduct a study on bears to find a long-term solution to their conflicts with human beings in Uttarakhand.”

The districts of Chamoli, Pauri, and Pithoragarh have been the worst affected, with a significant increase in bear-human conflicts.

Wildlife experts have welcomed the move, noting that such studies are essential for long-term resolution, “We have conducted studies on bears in Kashmir in the past, but no such study has been done in Uttarakhand. This is a good decision,” said Satya Kumar, a wildlife expert.