Nabarangpur: A sloth bear was spotted inside Dahana Sadashiva High School at Dahana village under Nandahandi tehsil in Nabarangpur district Thursday morning.
Residents of Dahana village woke up to the frightening incident Thursday morning. On hearing that a bear had entered inside Dahana Sadashiva High School campus they thronged the spot to keep a watch on its movement to be able to protect themselves
The school’s peon was the first one to spot the bear. He informed the school authorities who, in turn, informed the forest department.
Upon reaching the spot, the forest department officials launched a rescue operation. They set up a trap inside the campus to catch the animal instead of driving it away. That said, the animal scaled the boundary wall on its own and escaped into the forest.
According to villagers, incidents of bears sneaking into their villages are not uncommon in this area. They often come to the villages in search of food. However, they usually return to the jungle before dawn. “This bear somehow failed to return to its habitat due to reasons not yet known,” a local said.
Forest department officials, meanwhile, are monitoring the movement of the bear to ensure it doesn’t return to nearby settlements again.
PNN