Bear Cub Rescued After Mother is Killed by Poachers

The IFAW/WTI ER team at CWRC is caring for a rescued infant bear cub after her mother was brutally killed by poachers.

Villagers in Khsiapung village who picked the cub up intending to keep her as a pet after her mother was killed for her body parts, handed her over to a local NGO, Green Guard Nature Organization (GGNO), after GGNO's appeal that she would die if not properly cared for. GGNO then brought the cub to CWRC (Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation) for care.

This is the fourth bear cub to be rehabilitated at the centre. The other three cubs were relocated to the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) in Pakke in Arunachal Pradesh for the “Walk the Bear Program” – a process which gets the bears to reintroduced to the wilderness before they are released.

“The cub has gained about a kilogram since it arrived at the centre in February.” Dr. Anjan Talukdar, the veterinarian at CWRC, said.

Although there have been reports of bear cubs being raised as pets in Arunachal Pradesh, it is rare to see this in Assam. A search of the area is now being conducted to find out if there are more bears held illegally in captivity.

Sadly, body parts of Asiatic black bears are still being used as ingredients in traditional Chinese medicines and for consumption as food. These demands fuel illegal hunting of wild bears, the capture of wild bear cubs and their confinement in captivity.

Asiatic black bears are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and are also listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).