Two black bear cubs were caught alive while a mother bear fled away after the trio descended into Gamroo village in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Friday.
Locals of the village were panicked after they spotted the two cubs in the village graveyard fearing that their mother could probably be nearby, Manzoor Ahmad, a local from Gamroo village told Greater Kashmir.
He said the locals mostly youth managed to catch alive the two cubs, who they thought were separated from the mother bear not seen in the vicinity.
However, no sooner were the cubs handed over to Wildlife officials than the locals spotted a ‘mother bear’ across the Arin stream, which cuts through the village leaving them panic stricken.
“The bear tried to swim across into the village but after witnessing the crowd of people across, it was forced to turn back and escape into the nearby thicket,” a local said.
The separate videos of the bear and baby cubs also made rounds on social media soon after the event.
In-charge Wildlife officer in Bandipora, Nazir Ahmad confirmed the two baby cubs are with them and will be taken care of.
As for the mother bear, he said traps will be laid as teams are already on the ground to catch hold of it.