Nabarangpur: Forest officials in the wee hours of Thursday managed to cage a bear that mauled a youth to death Wednesday.
The animal was tranquilised twice late Wednesday night but it vanished in the dark. It was spotted in a farmland in an unconscious state at about 3 am. The bear has been kept under observation at Patramunda nursery. The animal will be released in the forest if its health condition improves, divisional forest officer (DFO) Ranjit Kumar Mallick said.
The youth’s attempt to click photos of the bear resulted in his death. Prabhu Bhatra, a native of Daleiguda village under Papadahandi block, was mauled by the animal at Kujaguda Padabasa reserve forest under Kodinga police limits.
Bhatra was returning from Karchamala with some passengers on board a Mahindra Bolero when he noticed the bear near a pond in the forests near Kujaguda. He got alighted from the vehicle and tried to click some photos of the animal.
The animal, in a jiffy, pounced on him. He grappled with the bear for over half an hour and then jumped into the pond screaming for help. The animal refused to leave him and stood on guard near the pond.
Bhatra lay there, writhing in pain and blood dripping from his body for over three hours before breathing his last.
Forest officials with a tranquiliser team and police rushed to the spot. They tranquilised the animal but it hid itself somewhere and then made good its escape from the scene. The forest officials and police recovered the body of Bhatra from the pond.
The kin of the deceased have been given a preliminary assistance of Rs 40,000. Later, compensation, as per the government rule, would be given after receipt of the post-mortem report and other documents, the DFO said.