Bear wounds man in Kashmir

Srinagar, May 2 (UNI) A wild bear attacked and wounded a boy in Khan Sahib area of central Kashmir's Badgam district today, police said.

Muzaffar Ahmad Bhat was attacked by the bear while working in fields at Gurwait Kalan in Khan Sahib area of Badgam district.

Bhat was wounded in the attack. He has been hospitalised.

About 25 people have been killed and more than 120 wounded in attacks by leopards and bears in Jammu and Kashmir during the past two years. More than 150 people have lost their lives and about 1,500 wounded in Jammu and Kashmir in man-animal conflicts during the past ten years.

The main reasons behind the increasing man-animal conflicts in the state were the shrinking habitats of wild animals, spread of human settlements, deforestation and decrease in herbivores population.

UNI