As in the case of elephants, big cats and monkeys getting involved in incidents of human-wildlife conflict in Uttarakhand, the Asiatic black bear and the critically endangered species of the Himalayan brown bear too are suffering from the effects of indiscriminate human activity and habitat fragmentation.
Being omnivores, consuming a wide range of diet which includes grasses, plant parts, fruits, honey and berries apart from wild and domesticated animals like the goat and sheep reared by villagers, the black bear in general is stated to be the one more likely to be involved in chance encounters with humans as compared to the critically endangered species of Himalayan brown bear.
According to departmental data, among the various cases of human-wildlife conflict incidences, the number of people injured in chance encounter with bear tends to be more than the number of people injured in conflict with other wild animals including the leopard, elephant and tiger. Apart from being poached for its body parts used in different ‘traditional’ medicine systems, it also faces the risk of being killed by sheep and goat herders who consider it a threat to their assets.
Illegal dumping of garbage in open spaces near human settlements as seen in instances of female bears with cubs denning in the Joshimath area with a considerable proportion of the dietary intake being secured from scavenging such illegally dumped garbage.
An official on condition of anonymity states that the critically endangered Himalayan bear faces a comparatively greater threat than some other wild animals in Uttarakhand.
However, the State authorities have so far managed to have achieved little success when it comes to the protection of the Himalayan bear from poaching and habitat fragmentation apart from the mitigation of its conflict with humans.