Saving a trapped animal is tough. Saving one stuck in fast-moving water for two days straight? That takes serious dedication. Now imagine that animal is a massive, heavily pregnant black bear, and you can’t even use tranquilizers. That’s the impossible situation wildlife officials faced and overcame in Kishtwar, India.
Villagers first spotted the huge bear struggling in the Dangar Nullah stream and called for help, reported Greater Kashmir. The Wildlife Protection Department team, along with locals and the army, got right to work. It turned into a grueling 48-hour ordeal.
Range officer Shafer Iqbal, who led the rescue, didn’t downplay the danger, saying: “The trapped wild animal, which was one [of] the largest ever spotted in the area, took 48 hours of hectic operation to rescue the beast from the fast currents.”
The biggest challenge: the bear was expecting.
“The animal turned out to be [a] heavily pregnant female, and the brave sleuths of our department risked their lives and took utmost precautions to avoid injury to the bear,” Iqbal said. Using tranquilizers was out of the question. “The sedative dose could have harmed it,” he explained. So, the team had to rely purely on careful maneuvering and probably a lot of patience.
After two exhausting days, the rescuers managed it. The team safely captured the bear and released her back into her natural habitat. Talk about a relief, knowing this mama bear is OK. It’s a powerful reminder of the risks wildlife rescuers take. Another recent story highlighted rescuers saving a weak seal pup in England, stressing the need to call experts instead of approaching distressed wildlife.
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Sometimes these close calls happen because animals run into our trash. We’ve seen heartbreaking stories, like a young bear in Minnesota that wandered for miles with a plastic jar stuck on its head or a raccoon on Long Island, New York, needing help with the same awful problem. Changes in climate can also play a part, affecting bears’ food sources and potentially pushing them closer to human areas.
That’s why Iqbal advises people never to chase wild animals. Supporting these kinds of local efforts makes a real difference. There’s good information out there about how people can take local climate action. And backing groups working on conservation is another great way to help protect wildlife and their homes.
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