Orphaned bear cubs to be released in the wild

The move comes in the wake of efforts to finalise the national conservation and welfare plan for bears, International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) officials said today.

Two of the cubs were raised by IFAW-WTI team at Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation near Kaziranga National Park in Assam, while the third was raised at the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) in Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.

The cubs were moved to the sanctuary for acclimatization.

Two of these cubs were handed over by locals of Agartala in Tripura who reportedly found them alone in the wild.

After a few days at the Itanagar Zoo, the cubs were moved to CWRC for rehabilitation by the state Forest Department. The third cub was rescued by Indian Army from a village locale at Seppa in East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, and handed over to CBRC, IFAW Animal Rescue Director Ian Robinson said.

"The cubs will now be walked in the forests daily," said Soumya Dasgupta, IFAW-WTI wildlife biologist. "During these accompanied walks, the cubs learn the ways of the forest instinctively. They will be radio-collared and released after six months," he said. MORE