India News
Sloth bear rescued in Uttar Pradesh
Aug 23, 2007, 13:15 GMT
Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh), Aug 23 (IANS) A five-year-old sloth bear kept in illegal detention has been rescued by forest department officials from a house in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh.
Acting on a tip-off by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), a non-profit organisation working for animal conservation, the officials recovered the animal from the house of a kalandar last Thursday.
Kalandars present bear shows where they make the bears dance and perform other stunts. In 1998, the government of India had banned the use of bears for public shows.
Divisional forest officer S.N. Mishra had ordered his colleagues to raid the house of a kalandar named Esar in the Chatwara Kalandar Basti and confiscate the bear.
Though the owner managed to escape, one of his accomplices Mohammad Kadar was detained following a chase.
The bear's canine teeth had been knocked out and its muzzle was found pierced, the officials said. Kalandars pierce the muzzle to insert a thick rope through which they control the animal.
A case has been registered against the absconding kalandar under various sections of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.
The bear was later sent to the Lucknow zoo.
'Kalandars know that it is illegal to conduct bear shows, but they still do so because of easy money,' said Dinesh Pandey of WTI, who was part of the raiding team.
The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is a nocturnal bear, inhabiting the lowland forests of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service
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