Over the last few years, the man– elephant conflict has become a regular feature not only in Odisha but also in neighbouring Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. However, of late, bear -man conflict has been hogging the headlines. The conflict has led to death of several persons and bears, besides rendering many injured.
Bear is primarily found in cornfields, sugarcane patches and fruit orchards, apart from in cashew nut fields. It is found in the wee hours in mango orchards, mahul tree grove and cashew nut fields and comes in confrontation with the people of the nearby areas who come to the forests for collection of fire wood, fruits and other non timber forest produces. The bear attacks when it feels insecure. So it is always defensive rather than offensive. It inflicts grievous injuries by means of its sharp nails. So the victims of bear attack normally succumb to their injuries.
It is in most of the cases that man is responsible for face-off with a bear. The conflicts occur generally during collection of minor forest produces from jungle between March and July. This period is most crucial for the wild animals, especially the elephants and the bears.
Forest produces like mahua flowers, char fruits, mangoes, honey and palm fruits are generally found during the time. Besides, bear also eats white ants which too are found in large number in ant-hills in the forests. The villagers in the forest fringes venture into the forest for collection of ripe fruits during the period. So, this triggers the man-animal conflicts. Most conflicts between man and bear have been reported in Kotpad area in Koraput, Nilgiri in Baleswar and Chendipaa in Angul district, recently.
All these areas are close to forests. The fruit bearing trees like mahua, char, mango and Kendu are mostly removed from the forests of our States for various reasons. Not only food of the animal, but also its habitat is lost due to the large scale felling of trees from the forests having thick undergrowths. As man always interferes with the affairs of the wild animals and encroaches upon their habitat that it leads to conflicts.
There are two types of bear seen in India. One is the Himalayan bear, which stays in the temperate as well as in the alpine zone.
The second is black bear, which stays in the tropical climate and also in the sub tropical climate. The alpine bears cannot be tamed like the black bears. The Himalayan bears are most ferocious. But the black bears are innocent and can be tamed easily. In the recent past, one black bear, which had been kept by one Ram Singh of Ghatagaon area in Keonjhar district from its childhood as a pet, had been like his family member.
It shared feelings with the human members. However, the Forest department had seized the animal and sent it to the Nandankanan. It is always very difficult to separate an animal from its foster parents and other members of the family. The animal behaviour is always superior to human being.
During dawn hours, the female members and children of families near the forest areas go to the forests and the fields for collection of mahua flowers, mangoes and Kendu fruits etc. When a bear is sighted, it is attacked immediately and left only when it is killed. Even farmers try to drive out wild animals from their corn fields charging their fence with electricity and adopting other methods. This leaves many animals hurt. This is also a reason why the elephants go berserk and cause wanton destructions of properties, besides killing human beings.
The bear is an animal, which has no predator or hunter, expect man who kills this innocent and non– harmful creature for own interest. Often, it is alleged that the bears are killed for their skin. The skin of the animal is hairy. The hairs are strong and thick, which are used by the aristocrats for foot mats.
The breeding season of the black bear starts from winter. Pairs of bears are seen during winter and the newborns are produced before the onset of the monsoon. During this period, the female bears go ferocious.
They tend to attack at slightest provocation. The babies are independent to search their fodder. When the mother is fertilized, she gets separated from her male partner. It avoids the male bear after the mating is over. The mother with the babies always roams in the very secluded places, where the man cannot reach. The animal is extremely afraid of wild fire. It is herbivorous as well as insectivorous. Bears are the agents of the dissemination of seeds of Bel, Char and Kendu. Bears like very much to consume honey and white ants. The animal collects the ants from the hills in a peculiar way.
It is most pathetic that we always treat the wild animals as our rivals. The wild life wing of the Forest department should give timely warming and advice to the people staying in forest fringes not to be hostile towards the wild animals. The villagers should always avoid bears or elephants when they are moving with the babies.
(The writer is a former senior forest officer and an environmentalist)