UP frees sloth bear in the wild

For the first time, the Uttar Pradesh forest department has released a sloth bear in the natural habitat.

The four-year-old male bear was rescued by Wildlife SOS from a village in Agra in May, the NGO said in a statement.

Found in poor health, the bear was treated and kept under observation for eight weeks and then released in the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary along the India-Nepal border.

"We are concerned about the human wildlife conflict in the state. So we are releasing the bear from a conflict situation with a radio collar," Rupak Dey, chief wildlife warden of Uttar Pradesh, was quoted as saying.

The radio collar will help experts monitor the animal's movement and ranging pattern.

"This is a milestone achievement for sloth bear conservation in India. Man-animal conflict is on the rise in many states. After the release of this bear in Uttar Pradesh, I hope many other states will follow," said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder, Wildlife SOS.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 sloth bears are estimated to live in fragmented populations across the Indian sub-continent. Wildlife SOS has rescued over 620 of them from Indian streets.