Asiatic black bear found dead with gunshot injuries outside forested area in Shimla
After the Himachal Pradesh Forest and Wildlife Department lodged an FIR, the police launched a probe into the Asiatic black bear's death.
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Shimla was ranked third with 71 Asiatic black bears, and Kinnaur has the highest number of bears at 90 followed by 76 in Kullu. (Express Photo)An Asiatic black bear was found dead with at least three bullet wounds Sunday on the outskirts of the Gazta forest range in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh, with forest and wildlife department and police officers saying it is a “case of poaching”.
According to officials, a postmortem examination revealed three gunshot injuries with bullet entry and exit marks on the bear’s body found on Theog-Hatkoti Road in the Kotkhai subdivision.
The Forest and Wildlife Department lodged a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 51 of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1971, along with various sections under the Arms Act at the local police station.
“Prima facie, it is a case of poaching wherein suspects didn’t dare to come on the main road while chasing the bear. It appeared that the animal had run away after sensing the danger but was shot dead in the hot chase. It is a dense forest, and in the escape bid, the bear came onto the main road and subsequently succumbed to gunshot injuries. The Gazta forest beat is a dense forest. Although there are some villages around this particular forest bear, there is no human habitation inside the forest,” a forest and wildlife department officer said.
“Veterinary doctors, who conducted the postmortem of the body, concluded the age of the dead animal to be between 18 months to two years. By the time of this age period, a bear usually gets separated from its mother and family, and roams independently. The spot inspection suggested that the bear fell from the hill side of the forest on the road,” added the officer.
According to sources, the local police have sought details about residents of the area who have been given arms licenses to use guns to protect their crops. “The details were sought in the view of killing of Asiatic black bear. A letter was issued to the local sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) asking to furnish the details of people having gun licenses in the particular area,” said a source.
A team of Ranjeet Kanwar, Range Officer, Forest and Wildlife, Anuksh Thakur, Station House Officer, Kotkhai, and others have been tasked with tracing the culprits. “The investigation is on. We are working on various theories. Prima facie, it is a case of poaching. Veterinary doctors found that no body parts of the animal were missing. The body has been cremated as per the procedures set under the Wild Life Protection Act,” said Thakur.
In October last year, a comprehensive study conducted by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata, identified 307 unique black bears in Himachal Pradesh, and estimated the average population of bears as 529 in the state. Shimla was ranked third with 71 Asiatic black bears, and Kinnaur has the highest number of bears at 90 followed by 76 in Kullu.
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