Poor tribal pays price for nurturing abandoned wild bear

Bhubaneswar, June 24 (PTI) - At a time when wildlife are
increasingly becoming victims of man's greed, a poor tribal
was recently sent to jail for keeping and nurturing an
abandoned wild bear in Keonjhar district of Orissa in India,
raising the hackles of animal lovers.

Forest officials seized the female bear, 'Rani' from the
possession of Ram Singh Munda last Thursday and handed her
over to the authorities of the Nandan Kanan Zoo here. Munda
was sent to jail after being arrested under the provision of
the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Munda's arrest has been resented by wildlife lovers who
termed the government's action as 'partisan'.

"We are surprised at the government's action which
arrested Munda without any fault of his," Wildlife Society of
Orissa secretary Biswajit Mohanty said.

Mohanty said Munda had been taking care of the bear for
past many years without causing any harm to it. When Rani was
abandoned by her mother in the forest of Keonjhar, it was he
who rescued and brought her up as if she was a family member
of his own.

Voicing similar views, J. B. Das, secretary of the People
for Animal, Orissa, said, "We have rescued many bears from
private possession and handed them over to the zoo. No legal
action was taken against anyone except Ram Singh," Das said.

The P.F.A. was instrumental in highlighting the case of
the bear. The activists of the organisation had drawn
attention of the department seeking her release.

When contacted, senior I.F.S. officer and director of
Nandan Kanan Zoo Ajit Kumar Patnaik defended the government's
action.

"Munda was arrested according to the provision of the law
meant for protection of wildlife," he said noting the bear was
a protected animal under the Wildlife Act.

Munda, however, said he had not kept Rani, rather the
bear came back to his house repeatedly when he released her in
the forest.

The animal lovers argued that keeping the bear in a cell
would adversely affect her health.

Mohanty said Rani was pining for the master and she might
die if she is unable to see her master. "Bears are known for
the strong bonding they develop with human beings and there
fore they are highly attached to their keepers.

"Ideally, the master should have been brought near the
bear off and on for a couple of months before allowing her to
be acclimatised to a new master," an animal caretaker in the
zoo said.

Meanwhile, the state government has taken over the
responsibility of looking after Mohanti's minor daughter who
was left alone after her father was put in jail.

"We will take care of 10-year-old Dulki," Keonjhar
district sub-collector Biranchi Nayak said, adding that she
could stay at any residential school till her father returned
from jail. PTI