Nabarangpur:The bear that mauled a Bolero driver to death Wednesday in Kujaguda village under Kodinga Forest Range in the district died late Thursday night while undergoing treatment.
Drug overdose is said to have caused the death of the animal. Application of two doses of tranquiliser left the bear ill, it was suspected.
The tranquiliser team made the bear unconscious and put it in a cage. Later it was moved to the Central Nursery of Nabarangpur. However, it succumbed at about 11 pm. The carcass was buried on the nursery premises following a post-mortem by a veterinary surgeon.
The exact cause of its death would be known once the post-mortem report is received, officials said.
Meanwhile, the district administration has completed all modalities to include the bear attack victim’s family under the National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS). Efforts are on to cover them under other schemes like the Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana and Madhu Babu Pension Yojana. The family is also entitled to get Rs 4 lakh as per the existing government provision for wild animal attack victims in the state.
The victim identified as Prabhu Bhatra of Papadahandi area took some passengers from Jatabali to Kattamala Wednesday afternoon and was returning in his vehicle when the mishap took place. Near a forested area in Kujaguda village, the victim alighted from the vehicle to take photograph of the bear when it pounced on him.