On October 16th at about 4pm, we received a call from the Puttaparthi District Forest Officer (DFO) Mr. Ravindranath Reddy, seeking our help to rescue a bear cub at Gudibanda Mandal, Mandalapalli village (94 km from Puttaparthi). Due to heavy rains and thunder we could only leave the next morning at about 4 am: the DFO, the Forest Range Officer (FRO), local veterinarians, Karuna Rescue team and myself (Narendra Reddy).

We reached the location at about 6 am and observed that the area was remote and surrounded by hills. It was also filled with muddy water from the rains, and difficult to access. People had laid traps for wild boars and a bear cub was stuck in a trap. The mother bear was there with the cub and protecting it. It was very difficult to get close to the trap because the mother bear was very aggressive and did not allow anyone to touch the bear cub.

I understood the situation and made a plan to get close to the bear trap with a JCB (excavator machine). Thankfully, we were able to access the trap, cut the wire and free the bear cub! The bear cub ran into the forest accompanied by its mother. By then a crowd had gathered and everyone was really relieved and happy at our success, they clapped and congratulated us!

I took the opportunity to educate the villagers about the protection of wildlife and how they are not dangerous to us if unprovoked. I felt my personal experience was amazing and exciting, helping to rescue the bear cub and encounter its mother in the wild, with our team. We were even featured on the local news!

– C. Narendra Reddy

Secretary, Karuna Society for Animals and Nature