Update: The farmer from Rinchenzor in Nganglam dungkhag who was mauled by a bear and her two cubs on October 5, is recovering and is in a stable condition at the Nganglam basic health unit (BHU).

The incident took place around 7am when the man was collecting tsaishing (wild nut) from the community forest near his house, which is located along the Panbang-Nganglam highway.

The man saw two cubs coming towards him and when he was trying to check out the cubs, the mother appeared suddenly from the forest and pounced on him.

Village tshogpa Khando said the cubs then joined the mother in attacking him.

“He somehow managed to escape by fighting back using his dagger (patang) with its cover on,” he said. “Then he immediately called the people nearby when the bears ran away.” He was rushed to Nganglam BHU.

The doctor said the victim has one of his calf muscles torn and completely mauled while no harm was done to other parts of the body. This was the second such case of bear attack in the area. A farmer also survived a bear attack in 2013.

Villagers who live in and around the chiwog said it is  common to see wild animals attacking houses looking for food. This is because the chiwog is located about 2km from Royal Manas National Park.

Khando said a tiger killed four horses and a jersey cow about seven months ago.  “All the investigations were done and the villagers were informed they would be compensated. But they are yet to receive compensation.”

In another case, a mother and a daughter narrowly escaped a bear attack that had entered their house and ate all the maize from the storehouse.

Norbugang chiwog has about 70 households.

Yangchen C Rinzin,  Samdrupjongkhar

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