Two evasive sloth bears caught in Nilgiris

COIMBATORE: Two sloth bears, which were frequenting residential areas in Kotagiri, were trapped by the Forest Department in a cage in The Nilgiris on Friday.

They were caught in a cage placed at Uyilatti village three days ago. At around 4 am on Friday. A herd of three sloth bears were lured by fruits kept inside the cage.

While two animals made their way into the cage and got trapped, one of them managed to escape. Once before, efforts were taken by the Forest Department to capture the sloth bears in November, last year following complaints from villagers on their frequent intrusions.

However, the sloth bears remained evasive so far. Yet these packs of sloth bears continued to intrude into villages like Kotagiri Nagar, Aravenu, Jakkanarai, Milithane and Uyilatti areas. They even broke into doors of houses and shops to devour dry rations and damaged farms.

The villagers, who were gripped in fear over their frequent sightings, demanded the Forest Department to capture them. As the two sloth bears trapped inside the cage remained aggressive, the forest officials appealed to the villagers to stay inside their houses until their relocation.

The cage was then shifted to Mudumalai forest area, where the sloth bears were released into the wild. The villagers also sought the Forest Department to trap another bear, while raising apprehension that it may come in search of its two other companions. In another wildlife related incident, a barely month old elephant calf was found dead by the frontline staff of the Forest Department near Attukkal forests in Coimbatore on Thursday evening. Its mother elephant stood nearby till Friday, preventing the Forest Department officials from approaching the spot to carry out an examination.