Another villager injured by a bear in Kashmir

Srinagar, Aug 19 (UNI) Even as the authorities have formulated a plan to deal with the man-animal conflict in the state, a wild bear attacked and injured one more villager in south Kashmir this morning.

Official sources said said a wild bear attacked and injured Mohammad Nengroo near a forest at Sirhama in Anantnag district.

He was rescued by other villagers and later shifted to hospital, they said.

The villagers said that the wild bears and leopards have spread havoc in the villages adjacent to forest. They further said they cannot move out of their home because of fear, particularly in the evening and early morning.

Concern over the man-wild animal conflicts which has assumed a serious magnitude in the state, the department of wildlife in the Jammu and Kashmir has approached to centre for funds to deal with the situation.

An official in the Wildlife Warden's office said the man-wild animal conflicts was a serious issue and they have formulated a proposal for strengthening the department to deal with it.

The proposal had been submitted to Central Government for funding, he said and expressed the hope that the department would be able to tackle this issue after the funds were received.

Official sources said about 30 people have been killed and more than 150 wounded in attacks by leopards and bears in Jammu and Kashmir during the past two years.

During the past ten years, more than 150 people have lost their lives and about 1,500 wounded in the state.

Recently authorities killed a bear at a village in border district of Kupwara in north Kashmir as the animal had spread havoc in the area while two leopards were also killed by the people since January this year in the valley.

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

UNI