KARACHI: Three bears rescued in Ghotki district two days ago were shifted to a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Sources said that the animals were rescued in Pir Noor Shah Dargah located near the Pakistan-India border and about 20km from Daharki taluka.

People had gathered there in large numbers for the annual Urs and the bear-baiting event.

The raid was jointly conducted by the Sindh wildlife department and the police.

“The animals suffering from motion sickness are relaxing now. They will be sedated tomorrow to remove the metallic ring inserted in their noses and to take their blood samples to check presence of any serious disease,” said an official of the centre, requesting anonymity.

He explained that the bloody sport was a pastime of landlords who used their influence to get their animals back if they came to know about the place where the rescued animals were being kept.

The sources added that two bears were rescued about four months ago in a raid conducted along the Jhelum River. Bear-baiting, they said, had almost been eliminated in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa years ago, though it was still practised in Sindh and Punjab on a limited scale.

Giving details of the rescue operation, wildlife conservator of Sindh Javed Ahmed Mahar said three persons had been arrested while their accomplices managed to flee with four bears after an exchange of fire. An FOR (First Offence Report) had been registered.

“We have been told that Karim Dad Mehar and Munir Soomro had organised the bear-baiting event. The animals had been brought from Punjab,” he said, adding that only male animals were used in fights.

Bears are Pakistan’s largest terrestrial mammals. Three bear species are found in the country — Asiatic black bear, Himalayan brown bear and Balochistan bear (a sub-species of the Asiatic black bear).

According to experts, bears have gone extinct in Sindh and Punjab and they are now only found in Fata, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. They are a critically endangered and protected species in these areas.

There has been no sighting of Balochistan bear in a decade.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2015

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