Forest Watcher Fends off Bear with Cub
Hyderabad: A forest watcher participating in the All India Tiger Forecast at Amrabad tiger reserve on Sunday had a miraculous escape after a sloth bear attacked him, but he managed to fend it off and reach safety with a minor injury to his hand.
Udatanuri Sailu, a forest watcher at Turkapally base camp deep within the reserve, was on a five-kilometer walk with another forest watcher on Sunday morning when they chanced upon a sloth bear with a cub in tow. The bear attacked Sailu, who was in front of the two observers, but he managed to push it back with the handle of the small ax he carried with him.
“The bear retreated, but in the process the ax slipped from his hand and his left thumb was cut. He was soon treated for the injury in Mannanur and is fine except for the minor cut he suffered,” said Amrabad forest range officer Veeresh.
Veeresh said Sailu and his colleague returned to the road later in the day to set camera traps, but returned after realizing the bear and its cub were still in the same area.
Meanwhile, the six-day AITE turned out to be a thrilling experience for most of the volunteers, who reported to forest officials their direct sightings of various wild animals such as tigers, leopards, sloth bears and deer. As of Sunday evening, authorities had reports of at least 10 direct tiger sightings at different line crossings and trails, 12 leopard sightings and 20 cases where volunteers and staff recorded sloth bear sightings. Officials also said there were numerous reports of sightings of deer, Chital, Sambar and Nilgai.
The six-day AITE started on January 20 and was held in all forest areas all over Telangana except Mulugu district where AITE was postponed to February due to Medaram Jatara.
