Posted by Sandy Hutchens
2 Walking the bear cubs in Doigurung Pakke Tiger Reserve Arunachal Pradesh Photo – Dr Rinku Gohain WTI-LOW Three orphaned Asiatic black bear cubs are being walked inside Pakke Tiger Reserve located in India’s Northeast state of Arunachal Pradesh. Achieving acclimatization is an essential step towards full rehabilitation and release back to the wild.
The rehabilitation is being carried out by the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department and IFAW-WTI (International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India). In two similar attempts in 2006 and 2007 respectively, seven black bear cubs were rehabilitated in Pakke. Additionally, last year, three orphaned bear cubs were released in Manas National Park in Assam, following prolonged acclimatization.
“Pakke Tiger Reserve spreads over 800 sq km and has many sites suitable to rehabilitate Asiatic black bear cubs. In the first two attempts, the bears were rehabilitated in Upper Dikarai and Khari Pong. The current release site near Doigurung anti-poaching camp, as with the earlier sites, was selected following a study on the suitability for the cubs in terms of habitat, food availability, security etc,” said Dr NVK Ashraf, Director, Wild Rescue Programme, WTI.