A bear that fell into a well in Vallanadu of Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, April 20, died after it drowned. The bear that was trapped for ten hours reportedly sank to the bottom of the well after being tranquilised on the morning of April 20. Fire and Rescue personnel who extricated the bear from the well rushed it to the veterinary hospital, but it was declared dead. According to officials of the Forest Department, the incident occurred at the house of Aravind at Vellanad in the early morning hours of Thursday, April 20.
In the late hours of Wednesday night, a resident, Aravind, heard a sound coming near his house. He soon realised that the sound came from a nearby well, and was startled to see the bear. The bear is understood to have come searching for hens, but what has raised eyebrows is how the bear reached Vellanadu, located about 17 kms from the forest area. Locals say that even wild pigs are rarely spotted in the area.
The bear was spotted hanging on the ring of the well and had managed to stay afloat. Things went awry after the local veterinarian fired a tranquiliser dart. Five minutes after being hit with the sedative, the bear sank to the bottom of the well. Soon, three people went into the well, but they could not lift the animal and had to come out.
The officials then used pumps to lower the water level in the well, and by 10.15 am, the Fire rescue personnel went into the well and managed to place the unconscious bear into a plastic net and brought it out. However, they were unable to save the bear.
(With IANS inputs)