Pakke: The arrival of an infant bear cub from Assam to the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh has prompted the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the forest department (Pakke Wildlife Division) to rally support for bear conservation in the state.

To this effect, Mr. Tana Tapi, the DFO of Pakke Wildlife Division issued an official notification for conducting a free health camp on the 27th and 28th of August for the villagers of Lanka as part of the campaign drive for involving the local communities in wildlife conservation.

Murali Pai of Wildlife Trust of India said, “The support of the local community is crucial for any conservation plan of wildlife. The local community must realize the importance of wildlife conservation and the positive benefits it brings to the environment”.

“Awareness programmes adjoining the Pakke Tiger Reserve and other wildlife habitats in Arunachal Pradesh will soon be conducted among the local communities for generating public support in wildlife conservation programmes. The health camp is part of the initiatives that WTI intends to do and will be conducted at regular intervals in various parts of the state. In this particular season malaria cases are common in the area and the health camp is expected to bring relief to the people of Lanka” he further adds.

Asiatic black bears in Arunachal Pradesh are under threat due to the gradual decline of forest cover, increasing human population, shrinking food base due to the decline of fruiting trees and encroachments into their habitats thus limiting their chances of survival.

Bears are tireless travelers, capable of covering long distances in search of food. They travel as many as 50 kms a day depending on the availability of food. Dwindling habitats and human activities close to their habitats have forced these animals to stray out into human settlements to feed at refuse dumps.

Reportedly, the practices of keeping bear cubs as domestic pets have been a common practice in Arunachal Pradesh and as the bear cubs grow and become more aggressive they are either killed for their meat or handed over to local forest officials.

Pai says, “The bear cub from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Kaziranga had reached CBRC yesterday morning. The cub loved the new enclosure that was especially built for him and was examining the new surroundings with the curiosity of an infant. All the documents pertaining to the good health of the bear cub were handed over to Tana Tapi the DFO of Pakke forest reserve”.

The framework on Asiatic black bear rehabilitation followed at CBRC specifies that the bears be sufficiently acclimatized to natural habitat and human contact is minimized to avoid imprinting and behavioral abnormalities. Bears are monitored for at least three to four months in the pre-release enclosure to ascertain their natural behavior and their fitness for release.

Presently CBRC is holding five bear cubs including the recent one from Assam in its bear holding facility and all of them are below two years of age.

CBRC was jointly set up by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in partnership with the Arunachal Pradesh State Forest Department.