Bears kill 3 and wounded 5 cattle in Bunakha, Chapcha Gewog under Chhukha Dzongkhag lately. The bears appear in the village routinely at around 2-3 pm causing harm to the livestock.
The villagers have become helpless as the bears are constantly attacking their cattle on the pastures and even in the cowsheds at midnight.
“Now, it is more than a month since the bears have been attacking our livestock. As of now, bears have attacked 8 cows in total, of which 3 died and 5 are being treated from injury. There is a risk of bears attacking us too as we keep our cattle near our house.
“We the villagers are dependent on agriculture for our livelihood so it is a great loss for us. Until now wildlife has been destroying our crops, but now they are attacking our livestock and there are chances that the animals might attack people as well,” said Yangki, the Tshogpa of Bunakha, Chapcha Gewog.
According to the Chapchha gup, efforts were made in the past by the forestry officials to keep the wild animal at bay. But it did not prove as effective as expected. For this time, the officials have set up traps and installed CCTV cameras as well for monitoring.
Meanwhile, the affected farmers are not entitled to any compensation for the cattle loss. The gup said their cattle were neither insured nor centrally supplied.
Kinzang Lhadon
