4 endangered bears rescued in Jharkhand, 6 poachers held

NEW DELHI: Four endangered sloth bears were rescued from the Indo-Nepal border on Tuesday as poachers were trying to smuggle them into India. Acting on intelligence provided by Delhi-based NGO Wildlife SOS, the Jharkhand police and state forest department carried out a raid on incoming vehicles and rescued the bears. Six poachers were also arrested in the operation.

“It was an all night anti-poaching rescue operation. The bears were rescued from the Sahibganj district of Jharkhand. The animals are aged between 15 months and three years. They were being smuggled in by Kalandars who were planning to sell the bears to others in India,” said sources.

The four bears were later transported in a large truck to the Wildlife SOS Agra Bear Rehabilitation Center in Uttar Pradesh.

Sloth bears are highly endangered and are only found in the Indian subcontinent with a small population in Nepal and Bhutan. A sub-species of the sloth bear is found in Sri Lanka. The animals have been used for centuries as dancing and performing bears, an activity banned by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Bears are poached for their body parts such as gall bladder, penis, bones and bile for preparation of Chinese traditional medicine and aphrodisiac in south east Asia and China. Bear paw soup is a delicacy in these regions.