![]() The species is easily identifiable by its shaggy black coat, elongated muzzle, protruding lip, and a distinctive white V-shaped patch on its chest. The seized bears were being exploited for the illegal dancing bear trade, in violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.Įndemic to the Indian subcontinent, Sloth Bear is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN Red List and protected under Schedule I of The WPA. The seized sloth bears' muzzles were pierced and their teeth and claws were broken, indicating that they were trained under harsh conditions for dance performances by the ‘Kalandar’ community in India and ‘Natiya’ community in Nepal. Over the past two years alone, five cases have surfaced, indicating that this cruel practice which was once thought to be eradicated in India is far from over. Meanwhile, in January, three sloth bears were seized in Bhagalpur district, Bihar followed by the seizure of a sloth bear cub in Godda district, Jharkhand in February. All four bears have been shifted to Bihar’s Rajgir Zoo. The enforcement agency has arrested seven suspects so far. In mid-March, the Department of Environment, Forest & Climate Change had seized four sloth bears, kept the matter underwraps as investigation was underway. ![]() ![]() An alarm of resurgence has been raised in illegal wild animal trade in the region which was stopped over a decade ago. This is the third incident of seizures out of a total of eight sloth bears in the past three months from different districts of Bihar and Jharkhand. The State Forest Department of Bihar has seized four live sloth bears (three males and one female) from a village close to the interstate border of Jharkhand and Bihar.
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