Three "orphan" bears released in Manas sanctuary

GUWAHATI: Three orphaned Asiatic black bears, hand-raised by the International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI), were recently released in the Manas wildlife sanctuary in lower Assam.

The animals were released after sustained period of on-site acclimatisation where they were hand-raised by the IFAW-WTI during a period of one year.

The trio had been rescued by the state Forest department in three different incidents from the local people who held them captive after they strayed out of forest in lower Assam last year, IFAW-WTI sources said here today.

Barely a few months old, the bear cubs were hand-raised at the field station of IFAW-WTI's Mobile Veterinary Services (MVS) unit at Kokrajhar.

During the animals "assisted release" the bears were taken for daily walks in the forest accompanied by a keeper and soon they instinctively learned to identify natural food and honed other skills necessary for their survival in the wild, sources said.

The bear cubs stayed during night at the camp where they were given concrete feed to supplement their dietary requirements.