Balasore, 26 September 2018 : WTI recently attended to a Sloth Bear Cub trapped in a snare in Swarnachuda Reserve Forest under Nilagiri Beat and Range under Balasore Division in Odisha. The issue was flagged by DFO, Balasore. WTI’s MVS-SBR team, along with Dr Piyush Soren, FVO immediately attended to the trapped bear cub.

The wild boars in the area are known to destroy the paddy fields. So, locals of Balasore often set up snare traps to catch them and avoid any damage to the crop. Accidentally, a one-and-a-half-year-old bear cub got trapped in one such snare . Due to this, there was a huge crowd around the site where the cub was caught, and the local police managed the crowd with the help of Forest Department. The team tranquilised the young cub, treated her wound and gave medicines to support healing. She was then reunited with his mother the same night. Not only was this a successful rescue, but also a reunion of the cub with her mother. Such an exercise is a great instance of well-coordinated efforts of Forest Department, MVS, Hon. Wildlife Warden and local police.

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Snares are used to capture animals such as spotted deer, civets and wild pigs for meat. Snares are a widespread hunting method used by local hunters as they are cheap, easy to install and effective over a long period of time. Many times, carnivores such as tigers and leopards get trapped – and the hunters kill them for body parts and often this ‘un-intentional’ catch trigger their involvement in organized crime.