Animal lovers have raised concern over a series of deaths of sloth bears at the Bannerghatta Zoo. Three bears died this month, taking the toll to nine since January. All the deceased bears were affected by tuberculosis (TB) and another nine bears at the sanctuary have been diagnosed with the disease. On Sunday, 14-year-old male sloth bear 'Vivek' died. It had been diagnosed with TB last week. On Friday night, a female sloth bear 'Yamini' had succumbed to TB.
“Many bears had already been afflicted with TB when they were brought to the Bannerghatta centre. TB testing kits for sloth bears are not available in the country. Experts from the TB Institute in Kerala visited the centre last week and advised us to conduct a series of tests to identify and treat the animals. We have discovered that nine bears have TB," said Dr Arun A. Sha, Wildlife Veterinary Officer from Wildlife SOS Organisation. The Bannerghatta Zoo has 110 bears, which are managed by Wildlife SOS. The NGO also takes care of rescued leopards and bears in many parts of the country. Majority of these bears were earlier used for street dancing by Khalanadhar community. After the wildlife laws were enforced, the bears have been taken off the streets and handed over to Wildlife SOS.
Dr Arun said the bears afflicted with TB have been quarantined and taken off the safari area. On an average, 60 sloth bears are let into the safari area inside the zoo. Dr R. Raju, Executive Director, Bannerghatta Zoo, said the caretakers of sloth bears have been asked to submit a detailed report by Monday. "We will contact the best wildlife veterinarians to ensure that the disease does not spread to other animals. The sloth bear safari will continue to operate for general public," he said. In 2010, tigers in the Bannerghatta zoo were hit by deadly bacterial infection caused by salmonella. Four tigers were killed in a span of 48 hours.