A study on brown bears in Kashmir conducted by Wildlife SOS has found that the bears consume food from the garbage, including plastic carry bags, milk powder, biryani and chocolate wrappers.
The Wildlife SOS team conducted an in-depth diet analysis of the brown bear. “This was done by studying the scats of 408 Brown bears, the results of which revealed that 86 bears have excreted plastic carry bags, milk powder, and chocolate covers in their scats. Some scats even had remnants of glass! As much as 75% of all that Brown bears consume comes from garbage, which means that their frequency to scavenge garbage is much higher than eating wild plant matter, crops, and even hunted sheep,” as per the report published by Wildlife SOS.
It added: “The findings from scat analysis were strengthened by data gathered from camera traps. Out of the 20,627 camera trap footage, 9,131 footage captured bone-chilling sequences of Brown bears foraging for food at garbage dumps. Their natural diet of fresh plants, insects and small mammals has been replaced by improperly disposed high-calorie foods, like the famous Indian Biryani!”
As per the findings of the report, brown bears, which occupy the remote mountainous terrains of the Himalayan range in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and Nepal, have increasingly come into the purview of humans as they venture into lower altitudes in search of food.
The survey, which was conducted between July 2021 and October 2021, was authorised by the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Protection Department. It was titled “Himalayan Brown Bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) Ecological and Human-Bear Conflict Investigation In Kashmir With Special Reference To Bear Habituation To Garbage Dumps In The Central Wildlife Division”.
