A female sloth bear and her ten-week-old baby were electrocuted by poachers on the periphery of Sanjay-Dubri Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. The endangered bears were discovered by the Forest Department. The mother was left paralysed by the electrocution and succumbed to the trauma.
The rescuers were surprised to find that the bear cub survived the electrocution. When they found him, he was holding on to his mother, attempting to nurse from her corpse.
The cub has been transferred to the Agra Bear Rescue Facility in Uttar Pradesh, run by Wildlife SOS.
Six poachers were later identified as having intentionally put a high voltage wire at the reserve. Sniffer dogs at the site followed their trail up to their doorstep, where they were caught red-handed with poaching tools. The suspects reportedly confessed and have been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
Electrocution is turning into a preferred method for trapping wild animals across Indian forests.
Wildlife lovers and experts say that while poisoning, shooting, foot-traps (snares) and even explosive-traps are among some of the popular poaching methods in Indian forests, electrocution is on the rise because it mostly goes undetected and animals mostly die quickly.
(With inputs from IANS)
Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim