Srinagar, Feb 16: A Himalayan brown bear, rescued by the Wildlife Department during a rescue operation in Sonamarg has become centre of attraction, here at the rehabilitation centre of Dachigam National Park.
Alia Mir, Project Head, Wildlife SOS, Jammu and Kashmir said the brown bear, which has been a habitual conflicting animal, was brought to Dachigam from Sonamarg during a rescue operation in 2017 and it has been in the rehabilitation centre since then.
“This brown bear had been a regular visitor of one of the hotel’s garbage dumps when it was captured and brought to Dachigam to avoid its direct confrontation with the local people and tourists over there. This animal has been under the supervision of Wildlife SOS since then,” she said.
“Although this species is mostly found in the upper parts of the Himalayan region, these animals have now started to descend down to the lower altitudes and have started to come into human habitation in search of food,” Alia said.
She said that this is a clear indication that these animals are not getting enough food in their natural habitat which is worrying.
At the Dachigam Centre, the staff of Wildlife SOS takes care of this apex predator and feeds well-balanced food besides maintaining adequate environmental and natural enrichments in its enclosure.
She also said the Pahalgam Rescue Centre also houses one Himalayan Brown bear which was rescued from Poshpathri En Route to Amarnath Cave in October 2007.
The Wildlife SOS has been responsible for the upkeep of the rescued/abandoned bears at the centre since 2007. “They are a unique species whose sightings are very rare,” she added.
Alia said Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a scenario where there has been a direct interaction of humans with wildlife which sometimes turns very ugly. “This has resulted in several humans as well as wild animal casualties,” she said.
“In order to mitigate this human-wildlife conflict, several steps are being taken by the Wildlife Protection Department as well as our organization, so that this conflict can be minimised,” she said.
Wildlife SOS in collaboration with the J&K Wildlife Protection Department has been generating awareness among people regarding the importance of wildlife and its conservation.
Rehabilitation of the rescued animals is also another aspect which is jointly taken care of. “Although there are several challenges while rescuing any species, it gives a unique feeling of satisfaction,” said Alia.
“We are working on a special project titled Ecology of Brown Bears undergoing in Sonamarg. It is an important project to understand the different aspects of brown bears,” she said.
Notably, the study of Wildlife SOS has revealed that brown bears get 75 percent of their food from garbage like plastic, chocolate, wrappers, biryani etc.
As per the preliminary survey conducted by the Wildlife SOS with different stakeholders at Sonamarg, it has been observed that brown bear sightings have multiplied compared to past few years.
“Through this project we want to understand various drivers which are responsible for the changing scenario of wild animals’ behaviour. The project is going to pave way for further research and it can help us to come up with the suggestive measures to mitigate this human brown bear interface at its initial stage,” she said.
Some of the amazing animals one can see in Dachigam national park are Kashmiri deer, brown bear, leopard, and hangul. It is also home to a wide variety of birds, including black bulbuls, colourful thrushes, cinnamon buntings, pygmy alots, Himalayan monals and Kashmiri flycatchers.
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