An alert has been issued around Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) in Bengaluru including Attibele and Hosur, asking people to be wary of a bear which allegedly attacked six people on the outskirts of the city. The bear which had strayed into areas in Shettihalli, Thattanahalli, Kachanayakanahalli villages in Anekal, left three people with severe injuries in the early hours of Tuesday.
The injured were identified as Sreenivas Reddy, Ramakka, Manja, Venkatswamy, Bisal Kumar and the security guard of a warehouse. The bear reportedly attacked the security guard of the warehouse of a private company in Kachanayakanahalli at around 3 am on Tuesday. Local residents alerted forest officials even as the animal moved towards Shettihalli and attacked three people at around 6:30 am. By the time forest officials swung into action, the animal had moved to Thattanahalli and attacked two others, The Hindu reported.
Forest officials installed camera traps while over 100 staffers at the BNP along with veterinarians and local police searched for the animal on Tuesday. Local residents have been asked not to venture out at night. The animal was spotted near Shettihalli by the officials before it escaped and could not be traced. The officials also said that it was unusual for the bear to attack people. Officials suspect that the bear is the same animal that eluded the BBMP rescue centre and escaped on Sunday after it was captured in Tumakuru.
However, BNN Murthy, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) of Bannerghatta National Park said that the bear from Tumakuru did not show signs of abnormal or aggressive behaviour and that it was difficult to establish if the bear that attacked people was the same one. He added that the bear is a nocturnal animal which can show aggressive behaviour under stress. In addition to camera traps, drones are being used to spot the animal.