The Bear necessities!

Ballari: It’s been four long years since wildlife enthusiasts spotted this rare sight - a mother bear with two cubs hanging on to her scruffy back, no more than two months old, bounding across the barren rocks of the Karaddi Gudda (Sloth Bear hill), at the Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary.

The only sloth bear sanctuary in Asia, Daroji is spread over 82.5 sq km in Bilikallu Reserve Forest East and the Bhukkasagar Reserve Forests, home to over a 100 bears. But with no cubs spotted lately, there were concerns over the breeding of animals. Mr T Bhaskar, range forest officer, Kamalapur says however that one more 'mama bear' maybe expecting cubs shortly!