A wild sloth bear in India is fighting for her life after spending days trapped in a snare.
The female bear was found limping across rocky terrain near Kora Hubali in the southern state of Karnataka. If a rescue team from IAR’s partners Wildlife SOS and the Karnataka Forest Department hadn’t reached her when they did, she would certainly have died. WSOS vet Dr Arun Shah immediately sedated the bear and then discovered that there was a snare wrapped tightly around her front right paw. The paw had become gangrenous and the young bear’s body was emaciated and dehydrated from lack of food. The rescue team transported her to the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre (BBRC) near Bangalore for emergency surgery. The centre is managed by Wildlife SOS and funded by International Animal Rescue.
The bear has been under the care of the medical team at BBRC for several days. Dr Arun is now fairly confident that she will survive. However, unfortunately, her injuries are so severe that she will never be able to released back into the wild. Instead, the young bear, now named Millie, will spend the rest of her life at the Bannerghatta Centre where she will have access to acres of forested land, with trees to climb, pools to bathe in in the heat of summer and other rescued bears to socialise with. She will remain in the care of the WSOS team, be fed a nutritious diet and given daily treatment for her injury.
Snare traps are widely used in India owing to the low manufacturing cost and ability to trap all kinds of animals, even elephants weighing a thousand pounds. These traps are often utilised by farmers to prevent crop-raiding from wild boar or by poachers to trap an unsuspecting animal. Occasionally snares are also used for bushmeat hunting.
Alan Knight, OBE, IAR CEO, said, “Thanks to the decisive action of the Forest Department and the swift response by the WSOS team, this young bear now stands a chance of recovery and a bright future. Snares are a vicious and cruel way to catch any animal and should be banned outright. We’re proud to fund the costs of running the Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre which, under the management of the Wildlife SOS team, provides scores of rescued bears with first class treatment and care. Little Millie couldn’t be in better hands.”
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder & CEO, Wildlife SOS, said: “Animals caught in snare traps struggle for hours or even days before succumbing to injuries or thirst and hunger. Some animals like sloth bears and tigers have even chewed off their limbs to free themselves. Yet even for animals who manage to escape, the situation is dire. They often die in days or weeks owing to the brutal injuries the snare trap inflicts. The female sloth bear was found in the nick of time. Otherwise, she too could have died in pain and suffering.”
Dr Arun A Sha, Director- Research & Veterinary Operations, Wildlife SOS, said: “The bear was identified as an approx. 3-year-old female. She has started eating and regaining her strength. However, her recovery still has a long way to go, and the bear will remain under close observation during the days ahead.”