A sloth bear cub was all caught up into a wire snare inside a teak plantation of a forest in Shanamangalam, near Kattikulam in Wayanad district, Kerala, India. The forest officials in Kerala worked towards rescuing the bear cub.
A front-line worker from the forest department noticed the one-year-old bear cub trapped into a wire snare during their daily patrolling routine at 10 am. This incident took place on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.
The North Wayanad Forest Divisional Officer, Remesh Bishnoy along with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary warden, S Narendra Babu, and a team of forest officials reached the spot to rescue the trapped animal.
The team of forest officials that was led by the Range Forest Officer, K Rakesh and assistant forest veterinary surgeon A Aneesh along with members from Rapid Response Team were successful in rescuing the bear trapped in a wire snare.
While speaking to The Hindu, the North Wayanad Forest Divisional Officer, Remesh Bishnoy stated that the forest officials have registered a case against this incident. The forest department will soon launch an anti-snare patrolling in all the forest areas.
The animal rescued was immediately released back into the wild as the animal was found to be healthy and had no external injuries from the incident.
According to the villagers, they mentioned that poachers usually set up snares in buffer zones and plantation areas to trap animals like hares and wild boars. This is the very first instance of such a huge sloth bear being trapped in a snare.
