Nilagiri: The forest near Kathagochi village under Nilagiri police limits in Balasore district was echoing with the roar of a bear which was accidentally caught in a trap that was laid for wild boars. The bear was seen restlessly struggling to free itself Friday morning.
According to reports, villagers had set a trap to catch a wild boar that had been destroying crops for the last few days. Instead of the boar, however the bear was caught in the trap.
It is suspected that the bear might have sneaked into human settlements in search of food late Thursday night. The locals, who spotted the bear struggling to free itself from the trap, immediately informed the forest officials.
On receipt of information, a team of forest officials including Mitrapur forester Ganesh Prasad Lenka, Nilagiri ranger Sukumar Das and ACF Lakhman Kumar Pradhan rushed to the forest to rescue the bear.
They however failed to rescue the wild animal in their first attempt. After receiving direction from the DFO, two veterinary doctors rushed to the spot in a bid to tranquilise the bear for rescue. The rescue operation was underway till the filing of this report.
Similarly, another bear was caught in a trap laid for wild boars at Baghamari area under Nilagiri police limits few days ago.
