Tee terror: Bear finally trapped on Farooq turf

A black Himalayan bear that had stalked golfers at the Royal Springs Golf Course, a favourite of former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, for ...

A black Himalayan bear that had stalked golfers at the Royal Springs Golf Course, a favourite of former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, for two years and evaded traps set for it was finally cornered early on Friday. It took the Jammu and Kashmir wildlife department 12 days to corner the giant bear who frequented the 18-hole lake-view greens and damaged its turf and fairways.

‘‘The beast has been finally caged near the foothills of Pari Mahal,” chief wildlife vetenarian Mir Mansoor said. ‘‘He seemed very clever and was eating the bait (fruits) for the last week but his end came yesterday,” he added.

Under pressure from the management of the golf course and bureaucrats who show up at the RSGC regularly, the wildlife department finally acted after at least one proposal to keep the beast out of harm’s way was shot down.

Mansoor said the bear ate berries and fruits near the course since he was disabled. ‘‘We had set up cages with honey and maize comb to attract the beast. But for the last week, he was relishing himself but somehow evading the trap,” Mansoor said. ‘‘This is a rare occasion when we have caught hold of an animal without killing it,” a wildlife officer said. ‘‘Last year a leopard which had invaded the residential Lal Bazar area was killed after the department failed to trap it.” Mansoor attributes the failure to trap animals to a lack of equipment.

The golf course has been a hit with Indian golfers as well as those from Europe, east Asia and the Americas. A group from West Asia recently described the course fairways as one of the best in the world. The group promised to return in August or September but like others, were mindful that there was a bear on the loose.