Bear escapes enclosure, caught after 28 hours

BHOPAL: After 28 hours of labour, the forest staffers managed to catch a bear that had escaped from its enclosure at Van Vihar Zoo, spread in an area of 445.21 hectares here.

The bear mauled a staffer before it was caged and brought back to the enclosure.

"We managed to catch the bear after 28 hours. This animal escaped from its enclosure yesterday and was later found near a hillock inside the zoo," Van Vihar Director S S Rajput said.

He said that the zoo remained closed for the better part of the day and it re-opened at 4 pm, after the bear was caught.

"The injured staffer has been rushed to a hospital," he added.