Bangalore:
Politics will not let even animals alone. Twenty two sloth bears travelled all the way from West Bengal, and arrived at the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre on Thursday, after their lives were threatened by the Maoists.
It is the first time that sloth bears are being protected from the Maoists. The bears were housed at a centre in Purulia, West Bengal.
After receiving the death treat from the Maoists, the governments of various states were consulted, and a decision was taken to transfer the bears to Karnataka.
MN Jayakumar, member-secretary, Zoo Authority of Karnataka, said that the 22 bears, housed in the SOS rescue centre at Purulia, were being shifted as it was decided that authorities could not make light of the threat. Two years ago, a similar threat was issued to zoo authorities in Jhargram district, but authorities dismissed it as a prank. Maoists
later burnt down the entire zoo, killing the animals. They had wanted the zoo evacuated to house fellow Maoists. In that attack, spotted deers were killed and eaten.
A few weeks ago, a letter written in blood was received by the rescue center in Purulia. Fearing animal casualties, the West Bengal government wrote a letter to the Central Zoo Authority. Jayakumar said that the Zoo Authority of Karnataka received instructions from the Centre to house the bears at Bannerghatta. (All wild animals are considered the property
of the Centre.)
The 22 bears are set to join 92 rescued bears in 60 acres of land at Bannerghatta. New enclosures are being readied for the new inmates, who belong to one social group, and are likely to be segregated from the others initially. They will be gradually introduced to other bear
inmates. With this, Bannerghatta now has the second largest captive bear population in the country after Agra, which is home to 200 bears.
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