In the early hours of 16^th February 2014, Narendra Reddy, the secretary of Karuna Society, received a call from the Forest Department that a young Sloth Bear was trapped in barbed wire on the boundary of the mango garden of a farmer from Gunipalli village, (20 KM away from our shelter) close to the forest.                             

Bear is carefully freed from barbed wire                                  ….and sent to Karuna for the night

The Karuna Rescue Team immediately set off with our ambulance and all necessary equipment and medicine and joined the Forest Department official and a veterinary officer at the location. The bear was found in a bad condition with blood in his mouth and some wounds on his back. His fur was really tangled in the barbed wire. After observing the condition of the bear, our team and the forest official decided to bring the animal to our shelter for treatment.  The barbed wire was carefully removed from the bear, he was then put in a cage inside the truck and transported  to Karuna’s Wildlife Rescue Centre.

We provided the bear with water and food and kept him in a dark room under observation where he settled down for the night. Our Veterinary Officer came back one more time to the shelter to examine the bear’s condition and everything seemed stable.  We discussed the options with the local official and decided to release the bear back into the forest.

                             

Finding the right place for release…                                      ..was confirmed when we heard the call
of other bears

The next morning, Narendra Reddy along with the forest department officials went to the Gunipalli village and asked the local people about the movements of the Sloth Bears in that area. Once they identified the appropriate location for releasing the bear they returned to the rescue centre and it was decided to release the animal the next day.

The following evening around 6 PM, the Karuna truck, bear and rescue team arrived at the location where the local Forest Officials and people from surrounding villages joined the operation to release the Sloth Bear.

The bear was very aggressive and very restless. Thinking that the bear may not find food in the night, he was given some fruit to eat to sustain his energy.  However, when Narendra Reddy checked the possibilities of the releasing the bear, suddenly he observed some bears moving far away on the hill. They were being called by the cries of the young rescued  bear.

So quickly they open the cage and released the bear who ran as fast as be could up the hill to join his family.  Once reunited they disappeared into the forest.

                                                Rescuers find safety as bear goes free

                          For all parties, including the bears, this was a very happy ending!!