Rescued Sloth bear makes a mad rush to freedom

Rescued Sloth bear makes a mad rush to freedom
 

Story by Sagaya Fernando
Mumbai: April 16, 2018

A wild sloth bear which had accidentally fallen into a dry well in a village near Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district of the Indian state of Maharashtra was rescued successfully by the forest department officials, but it was not at all amused to be trapped in the well for quite some time in the searing Indian summer.

Residents of Jambli village near Dahigaon Recha in the district heard angry growls coming from a dry well and found that an Indian sloth bear had accidentally fallen into it, and immediately informed the forest department officials about it.

“We got a call from the residents of Jambli village that a sloth bear had fallen into a 30 to 35 feet dry well on April 5. Our rescue team rushed to the area and saw that a large crowd of onlookers had gathered around the well. It took some time to clear the crowd,” said Forest Guard Amol Gawner of the Amravati Division Rapid Rescue Unit.

He added, “After the crowd was cleared, we initially lowered a ladder into the well to enable the bear to climb out on its own. However, the agitated and tired bear did not do so. Then, we changed our approach and lowered a tree trunk into the well.”

Fortunately, though the bear was exhausted due to the beating summer heat, it was not hurt during the fall. Soon after the tree log was lowered into the well, the bear clambered out of the well and made a dash for freedom.

A video shot by one of the rescue team member shows the agitated but unhurt bear running blindly towards a couple of rescuers who were standing a little away from the well, scaring the wits out of them and making them run to safety.