Sloth bear rescued in six-hour operation at CSTPS

Chandrapur: Forest officials of Chandrapur range rescued another problem sloth bear from Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS) premises on Friday. Ace shooter Nawab Shafat Ali Khan tranquillized the female bear with the help of local staffers in a six-hour operation. The sedated beast was caged and shifted to Rambagh nursery in the city.
The sloth bear had been moving around in the residential and industrial premises of CSTPS since last few months.It was frequently sighted by the local residents along the road and in residential colony.
As her sighting increased in residential area, CSTPS authorities requested forest officers to capture the bear.
Rescue operation led by ACF Rajan Talmale and RFO Ashish Hiwre began at 9am soon after forest officials received distress call from the CSTPS management.
Forest officials took help of Shafat Ali Khan, who is wildlife adviser to five states, for the rescue operation. Khan assisted by wildlife veterinary officer, TATR, Dr Ravikant Khobragade and rapid response team of forest department tracked the problem beast in thick and thorny shrubs spread all over the power plant premises.
The female sub-adult bear was finally traced in the shrubby stretch in coal handling plant for 210MW power generation units after hours of search.
Khan sneaked close to the bear and fired the tranquillizing dart from close range at around 3pm. Soon after, the tranquillized bear fell unconscious. It was captured in a net and put into cage.
After the bear was shifted to Rambagh forest nursery in city, vet Dr Khobragade examined and revived the sedated bear. RFO Ashish Hiwre informed that captured bear is sound in health and will be released into the wild in next few days.
This was the second sloth bear that was tranquillized and captured from CSTPS premises in last six months.
Experts blamed CSTPS for the problem and claimed that until plant management clears the shrubby plantation spread on hundreds of hectares of its land, the problem of wildlife intrusion will continue.
The shrubby forests in CSTPS premises has proved ideal breeding habitat for leopards and bears that are prowling the premises since last many years. Garbage and waste food dumped by residents is good source of food for bears and they come into residential area for the same.
Experts have also stressed upon need of a permanent rescue centre and expert wildlife consultant in Chandrapur to deal with man-animal conflicts.