Two sloth bears found dead in Kotagiri

Two sloth bears – one from getting ensnared and another by electrocution, were found dead in Kotagiri in two forest ranges of the Nilgiris forest division on Wednesday.

In the first incident, officials stated that on Wednesday morning they received information about a dead sloth bear in Aravenu in Kotagiri. The Forest Department along with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board personnel visited the area and conducted investigations into the events leading to the death of the bear.

During investigations, they learned that heavy rain had led to a power line passing through the area getting cut and it coming in contact with a tree. In turn, the sloth bear had come into contact with the tree and was electrocuted, leading to its death.

In a separate incident, officials said that another sloth bear was found dead in Bikkapathy in the Kattabettu forest range on Tuesday. They said that they received information that the bear had died after getting stuck in a solar fence. They investigated the incident and found that the bear had actually died after getting caught in a snare.

Following investigation, the department registered a case against A. Vikramkumar, 23, from Chhattisgarh. He had reportedly made a snare using a brake wire to trap wild game, which led to the bear getting trapped in the snare and leading to its death. Later, he was arrested.