Tourists at a Sonamarg resort in Jammu and Kashmir were alarmed when a wild bear was spotted in the area, causing widespread panic.
A viral video shows the bear fleeing from humans while several men chase it, cameras in hand.
Forest department officials were alerted and are currently working to either capture the animal or safely guide it back to its natural habitat, as per reports.
This incident follows a November 2023 National Green Tribunal (NGT) directive ordering the Jammu and Kashmir government to take action against the Sonamarg Development Authority for improper waste disposal. The NGT warned that open garbage dumping threatens local brown bear populations.
A Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee report submitted to the NGT stated: "Tourism development - including hotel construction, guest houses, restaurants, markets, roadworks and tunnelling projects - has caused habitat fragmentation and increased human encroachment in areas that were once exclusively home to various wildlife species, including the Himalayan Brown Bear."
