Nagpur, February 15: Some tourists visiting the Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park, commonly known as Gorewada Zoo, in Maharashtra's Nagpur were left horrified after a sloth bear attacked and killed a full-grown blue bull (nilgai) right in front of them. The incident took place at the sloth bear enclosure in the zoo on Wednesday (February 14) afternoon. The bear also ate the flesh or nilgai after killing it.
The tourists were in the sloth bear enclosure when some of them noticed a sloth bear pouncing on a nilgai. The nilgai was killed on the spot and the bear was eating its meat, according to the visitors. "One of the four sloth bears who were moving in the open at the enclosure not only killed the blue bull but also started consuming its meat," tourists were quoted as saying in a report. The enclosure has seven bears.
Confirming the incident, divisional manager and director of Gorewada Zoo, Shatanik Bhagwat, said the nilgai might been left in the Gorewada reserve forest when the park was built.
Abnormal Behaviour:
A sloth bear killing a nilgai reflect an abnormal behaviour. "This is a very rare incident. Mostly, sloth bears feed on fruits. Killing a nilgai and consuming its meat shows abnormal behaviour. This incident should be well-documented," said Dr Bahar Baviskar, a wildlife veterinarian who looked after the sloth bears.
According to Dr Baviskar, sloth bears mainly consume plant matter including berries, flowers, seeds, tubers, herbs, nuts and roots. They also eat ants, termites and insects.
