By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: A brown bear killed a number of yaks and sheep in Sor Laspur village which flanks the Shandur Pasture in the extreme north of Upper Chitral during the last three days and created panic among the residents.
Yusuf Shahzad, a resident of the village told Chitral Times that the predator carries onslaught on the animals in the pasture adjacent to the village in the nighttime where they are left to graze freely.
He said that the predator sets a boulder rolling from an inclined plan towards the herd of animals to get them killed and then devours it as it cannot easily attack and weaken a stout yak to death easily.
Mr. Shahzad said that the predator had been spotted in Shandur pasture, known as the highest polo ground of the world, some years ago but it was for the first time that it has descended to the village in search of food.
He said that the presence of the wild animal in the vicinity of the village has filled the villagers with fear who guarded their homes in the nights but they preferred to desist from attack the predator in retaliation and waited the wild life department to ward it off from the area by its own method.
The divisional forest officer of wildlife Division, Idrees Khan told Chitral Times that he has sent a team to the village to make it leave the area by making aerial firing.
He said that the predator had recently came out of its winter hibernation and was in need of more and more food during the next two months and it turns aggressive due to its hunger and attacks any animal that it can kill.
He said that some of the villagers had thrown cooked food to the predator near the village due to which it remained in its vicinity and having food, it had attacked their pet animals while it can also turn aggressive for men when in hunger.
He said that the department had no funds to compensate the villagers for the animals killed and devoured by the bear.
Shafiqullah Khan, an environmentalist associated with an international organization, said that the brown bear had a considerable population in the Shandur, and Baroghil while its breeding ground is the mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan border Chitral.
He said that due to the extended winter season this year, the predator passed more time in the hibernation than the normal years and it turned towards the neighboring village.
