Srinagar, Aug 17: Three people were injured in separate bear attacks in Khonmoh on Srinagar’s outskirts in the past 24 hours as the apple harvest draws bears towards orchards and nearby villages.
Ajaz Ahmad Bhat was injured in an attack at Shiv Dakri, Khonmoh, on Sunday and is undergoing treatment.
Early Monday, a 57-year-old woman was injured near her home in Shah Mohalla. Soon after, 30-year-old Muzafar Ahmad Bhat was attacked in nearby Sarhandi Colony and shifted to SMHS Hospital, Srinagar.
By evening, another bear attack was reported from Vasaknag, Kund, in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Mohammad YousufHajam was injured and shifted to a hospital.
The incidents come amid increased bear and leopard sightings across Kashmir.
An official said bear traps have been set up in the affected area.
“People have been advised to avoid venturing out late in the evening or early in the morning and contact the designated control room if they spot any wild animal,” he said.
Last Thursday, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, 55, a flour mill worker from Jawbehara, Awantipora, was critically injured in a bear attack.
Earlier this week, three people were grievously injured in separate wildlife attacks in Tral and Shopian.
The Wildlife Protection Department has established control rooms across its wildlife divisions in Jammu and Kashmir. It has advised people to remain cautious near forests and avoid approaching wild animals.
Experts say bear attacks increase during the apple harvest as fallen and rotting fruit attracts animals to orchards and villages.
“Bears are often drawn by fallen or rotting fruit left on the ground. Bear attacks peak during fruit harvesting,” said SuhailWagay, Wildlife Warden, Pulwama-Shopian range.
“Fallen apples and food waste must be properly cleared to prevent wild animals from being attracted to orchards,” he said.
Wagay said orchards along forest fringes are particularly vulnerable. Unharvested fruit and stray dogs also attract bears and leopards near homes, he said.
Khurshid Ahmad Shah, head of the Department of Wildlife Sciences at SKUAST-K, said habitat changes have brought wildlife closer to settlements.
“Many leopards now live and breed within urbanised populations,” Shah said. “They rely on stray dogs as prey, and apple orchards offer year-round food.”
The conversion of paddy fields and grazing lands has reduced natural buffers between forests and settlements, he said.
Shah said black bears have also adapted to human-dominated areas.
“Except for those in Dachigam National Park, most bears have made human-dominated areas their habitat,” he said.
He said studies show bears in Dachigam do not come down in search of food, highlighting the importance of secure habitats.
The loss of paddy fields, maize crops and grazing lands has further reduced buffers between forests and settlements, Shah said.
“When food and shelter are easily available near villages, animals no longer need to return to forests,” he said.
The attacks have renewed fears among villagers.
“Last year, also during the apple harvest season, we lived in constant fear of wildlife attacks, and this year is no different,” said Muhammad Shafi, an orchardist from Zainapora, Shopian.
Last autumn, dozens of people were injured, and several were killed in wildlife encounters across Kashmir.
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