Friday, June 20, 2008

Man goes on the run with pet bear

Right now I am so upset with my building management people. There is a stretch of dirty beach nearby where I used to exercise my dog. The beach (or rather a sliver of beach) is always empty because of flotsam & jetsam washed up constantly. There is no way to get off the beach except through the gate I use so my doggie cannot even run off - not that he has ever tried.

The management sent me a letter saying that if I stepped out of my home with my dog, I must have him on a leash & muzzled all the time. This means that my dog will never be able to really run and play and fetch - I spent hours training him and he loves it. If I must keep him on a leash he will never get adequate exercise because I can't run as fast as he does. He is a well trained friendly animal.

Dogs are not allowed in any parks or public beaches in this city. All you can do is run with them on leashes on roads. Sad, huh? So anyway, right now I am feeling most sympathetic towards this Indian man! If his story is true why arrest him? And why not try to rehabilitate the bear? What is the point of locking it up?

An Indian man has gone on the run with his pet bear after authorities threatened to remove the animal. Rani, a young female sloth bear, has been living with Ramesh Munda, of Orissa, since she was two months old. According to Mr Munda, she followed him home one day when she saw him collecting firewood in the jungle, and has since been sleeping alongside his three-year-old daughter and living with his family.

But when local officials learned of the Munda family's wild member, they ordered the bear be handed over to a local zoo.

Instead Mr Munda and Rani went on the run, evading a police dragnet and three wildlife officials for several days before Mr Munda was finally caught and charged for breaking India's wildlife laws. But Rani escaped and has been on the lam ever since. (Link)

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