Wild bear dies after eating bomb coated with corn flour in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat forest

In a tragic incident in Balaghat’s Bijora village, a sloth bear lost its life after ingesting a makeshift bomb disguised with corn flour, allegedly intended to attract and kill wild boars, TOI reported. The incident occurred around 2 p.m. near the Laugur forest range, where a patrol team discovered the bear’s body, severely injured with extensive wounds in its mouth from the explosion.

Authorities revealed that local villagers often set such crude bombs near forested areas to control wild boar populations, which they view as crop threats. These traps, commonly placed in fields adjacent to the forest, are lethal, causing severe injuries upon consumption and making animals easy targets for hunters.

Forest officials believe the bear, while wandering near Bijora village, accidentally encountered one of these bombs.


Upon being alerted to the incident, Forest Range Officer Kshatrapal Singh Jadoun, along with Divisional Forest Officer Adhar Gupta, Sub-Divisional Officer Vinita Fulbele, and a team of forest workers, rushed to the scene. They coordinated with a group of three veterinarians from Baihar and Paraswada, who conducted a postmortem examination. The bear’s remains were also sent for further analysis, with samples being dispatched to laboratories in Jabalpur and Sagar.

In response, Jadoun emphasised that forest patrols have been strengthened, with targeted searches underway to identify those responsible for setting the explosive traps.