A morning errand turned fatal in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday when two women out collecting fodder for their cattle came face to face with a bear. Scrambling to get away, both women lost their footing and tumbled hundreds of feet down a hillside. One of them died in the fall, while the other is fighting serious injuries.
The accident near Sideli village
The incident took place barely 100 metres from Sideli village in Pokhri tehsil. In hill villages like this one, walking into the forest at daybreak to cut fodder for livestock is an everyday chore, and the two women had set out for exactly that reason on Friday morning. As they were gathering fodder, a bear suddenly appeared and attacked them. In their panic to escape, the women could not keep their balance on the steep slope and fell several hundred feet down. Villagers in the area rushed to the spot as soon as word reached them and managed to bring both injured women down to safety before rushing them to hospital.
At the hospital, doctors declared 55 year old Vimla Devi dead on arrival, saying she had already succumbed to her injuries before reaching the facility. The other woman, 42 year old Lakshmi Devi, suffered severe injuries in the fall. After first aid, she was referred to the base hospital in Srinagar Garhwal, where she is currently being treated.
Husband Chandrashekhar says fall, not the bear, caused the death
Chandrashekhar, the husband of Vimla Devi, said his wife's death was not caused directly by the bear's attack but by her fall into the ravine while trying to escape it. His account makes clear that it was the desperate attempt to flee, rather than the animal's attack itself, that proved fatal.
A helicopter was arranged but bad weather kept it grounded
Pokhri tehsildar Ramkishor Dhyani said that on the district magistrate's instructions, a helicopter had been arranged to fly the critically injured woman to the base hospital without delay. However, poor weather conditions meant the helicopter could not take off. The administration then decided to send Lakshmi Devi to hospital by ambulance instead. The journey on the hill roads took longer than a helicopter would have, but it still got her to treatment in time.
Bear attacks in forest areas are not a one off
Bear attacks in hilly, forested regions like Chamoli are not unheard of. Earlier, a similar bear attack was reported from a forest in Maharashtra, where a medical team reached the spot in the middle of the night and carried the injured man roughly 18 kilometres on a stretcher to save his life. Incidents like these are a reminder that the threat from wild animals remains constant for villages located close to forests.
What people heading into the forest should keep in mind
For people living in hilly, forested regions, going into the forest to collect fodder for cattle is a daily necessity, but so is the risk of running into wild animals. It is advisable for anyone entering such areas to travel in groups rather than alone, and to avoid going for fodder or firewood by themselves. Carrying a stick, a whistle, or something to make noise can also help ward off animals. Bears and other wild animals often attack from ambush, which makes constant alertness essential in the forest. As this incident in Chamoli shows, even a small lapse in caution can turn fatal.
