Two Asiatic Black Bears rescued in Raimona and Manas National Park
15 November 2021, Manas National Park: Within a span of three days, two Asiatic black bears venturing out of their protected areas and injured by spears were rescued by WTI’s veterinarians and released back to the wild.
WTI’s Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) Unit veterinarian Dr Daoharu Baro had a busy week attending to two back-to-back calls to handle bears caught in conflict situations. The first case on the 12th of November, had a bear with a spear embedded in its neck. The bear was rescued from human habitation in the Kachugaon Forest Division. Supported by the Forest Department, braving a crowd of almost a thousand people, WTI’s veterinarian chemically immobilized the bear and released it back in the wild after overnight observation. The second case of a bear foraying into the backyard of a house was detected the same day through its pugmarks in a village near Manas National Park. The bear was located on the 14th, captured and released in Panbari Range of Manas National Park.
Asiatic Black Bear released back in the wild at Raimona NP, Assam | Photo by Tunu Basumantary/GFC
Rescued from a Crowd
On the evening of 12th of November, WTI’s Western Assam MVS unit received a call about a female bear taking refuge around human habitation. With thousands of people from nearby villages on site, it was an extremely challenging situation to ensure that the bears are safely captured. A miss would turn an angry crowd on the rescuers! WTI’s veterinarian Dr. Daoharu Boro, along with our biologist Nazrul Islam and keepers, Keshab Pathak and Debojit Sakia reached the spot to address the situation. After spotting the bear, the team was able to cordon off the area and keep the crowd at a distance with support from the Joint Forest Force of Sanfan and the Central Forest Range.
The team attending to the injured male bear at Manas NP | Photo by Nazrul Islam/WTI
The animal was already stressed out and the team had to wait out until the bear found a secure enough spot to stay hidden. Dr. Daoharu chemically immobilized the animal to make it easier for shifting. On examination, a spear was found lodged into the neck of the animal. Thankfully, the wound wasn’t deep and the team was able to extract the spear. The bear was kept overnight for observation at Sanfan Forest Range and was found to be stable enough for release the following day.
A first for Raimona National Park
This was the first intervention that the WTI team was a part of in the newly formed Raimona National Park. Mr. Bhanu Sinha, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Kachugon Forest Division exulted, “…the rescue of the Asiatic Black Bear signifies the presence of the animal in the newly notified Raimona National Park.” This was also his first experience with a hands-on bear rescue. He added that “Animal safety was our first priority along with the crowd management. With support of the WTI –MVS team we have successfully saved the animal from human habitation and released her at a suitable location in the wilderness nearby.”
Supported by IFAW and the State Forest Department, WTI operates its Mobile Veterinary units across the state of Assam as satellite units under the Centre for Wildlife Rescue and Conservation (CWRC). The Western Assam Unit services the Greater Manas Landscape, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site that is home to several species of endemic and endangered wildlife.
The Second Bear from First Addition, Manas National Park
Just a day after the Raimona operation, the team attended to a similar incident in the First Addition of Manas National Park. The bear’s presence was detected from a pugmark in the backyard of a house in Dongsiapara on the 12th of November. Reportedly injured, the animal was finally located on the 14th, with support from Manas Tiger Reserve (HQ), Panbari and Kuklung forest range staff, SSB and the state police. The animal was tranquilized by Dr. Daoharu Boro to remove a spear from its right thigh and it was administered with the required antibiotics, analgesics and multivitamins. The bear, a male this time, was released back to the wild on the same day in Panbari Range.
Wildlife Trust of India’s ‘Greater Manas Recovery Project‘ aims at bringing back the glory of the Manas landscape by restoring its ecological functionality through multifaceted actions including rescue and rehabilitation, conservation translocations, capacity building of forest staff and community assistance. The First Addition was formally added to the Protected Area network through a Gazette notification in 2016 after IFAW-WTI worked with the Bodoland Territorial Council to triple the area of Manas through a political declaration.
