Bear injures shepherd in north Kashmir

Srinagar, Jun 30: A wild bear attacked and injured a shepherd in the north Kashmir district of Baramulla, official sources said today.

They said one Safeer Chopan was sitting in a forest at Uri, about 100 km from here along with his sheep, when a bear attacked him.

Other villagers in the forest immediately rushed towards the area but the bear disappeared in the deep woods.

Chopan was later hospitalised, they said.

The man-animal conflict in the Kashmir valley registered an increase after heaviest snowfall in 25 years was recorded in the upper reaches in January this year, forcing wild animals to infiltrate into towns.

So far, about three dozen people have been killed or injured by wild animals in the Kashmir valley this year. During the same period, people also killed about half a dozen wild animals.

UNI