CHITRAL: A brown bear has killed a number of yaks and sheep in Sor Laspur village, which flanks Shandur pasture in north of Upper Chitral, during last three days that created panic among the residents.

Yusuf Shahzad, a resident of Sor Laspur, told this scribe that the predator attacked the animals in the pasture adjacent to the village at nighttime where they were left for grazing.

He said the bear set a boulder rolling from an inclined plain towards the herd of animals to kill and then devour them, as it could not attack a stout yak to death easily.

Mr Shahzad said the predator had been spotted in Shandur pasture some years ago, but it was for the first time that it descended to the village in search of food.

Divisional forest officer of wildlife division Idrees Khan told Dawn that he had sent a team to frighten the bear out of the area by making firing in the air. He said the bear had recently come out of winter hibernation and would be in need of plenty of food during next two months. That’s why it turns aggressive due to hunger and attack any animal that it could kill, he added.

The official said that some of the villagers had thrown cooked food to the predator due to which it remained in the vicinity. He said that the department had no funds to compensate the villagers for the animals killed by the bear.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2020