Wildlife Department experts on Monday tranquilized and captured a bear and her cub who had ventured into residential area of Rajbagh in Srinagar after a 21-hour-long operation, officials said.
The wild black bear with her cub were spotted roaming in the nearby Jawahar Nagar road on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday injuring a private school guard identified as Fayaz Ahmad at nearby Lal Mandi area and causing panic among the residents.
The mother and cub was also captured in the Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras installed in the locality by the officials. The Shankaracharya hill forest is more than 2 km away from Rajbagh area.
The Wildlife Department had dispatched a team of experts with equipment to capture the bear and her cub. They scanned through the areas of Rajbagh, Jawahar Nagar and Lal Mandi on Sunday.
After the 21 hours operation, the black bear was spotted in the Rajbagh area during the night and has been tranquilised successfully.
“In a big relief to the residents of uptown Srinagar, a bear and a cub have been captured by a team of the wildlife department on Monday,” the Wildlife Department official said.
“Great job by the Team led by the Wildlife Department,” Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Aijaz Asad said in a tweet.
Jammu and Kashmir Police had issued an advisory for the people residing at Rajbagh and its adjoining localities to remain indoors till the bear was caught, and all educational institutions in the area were closed for Monday as a precautionary measure.
With the success of the capture, Asad declared that all educational institutions in the area shall open normally as per daily routine.
