Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Itanagar: Three orphaned male Asiatic black bear cubs are heading home. Officials announced the move on Friday, September 25. The cubs left the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation on September 24. They are currently at a pre-release site inside the Pakke Tiger Reserve in East Kameng district. The bears face a long transition.
A joint team from the Wildlife Trust of India and the Arunachal Pradesh Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department manages the transfer. They are trekking 26 kilometers through the terrain on foot and by elephant. These animals are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
The cubs face five to six months of supervised forest exploration. Experts want the bears to adapt slowly to their natural habitat before total independence. Pakke Tiger Reserve DFO Dhawan Kumar Rawat marked the milestone. "From rescue to rehabilitation, these young bears are now taking an important step towards returning to the wild," Rawat said.
Dr. Panjit Basumatary of the Wildlife Trust of India confirmed the timeline for the soft-release process. This method ensures the bears learn to survive on their own. Once they prove they can handle the environment, the forest becomes their permanent home.
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