By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
Chamoli, 22 Dec: A terrifying encounter between humans and wildlife in Chamoli district has once again exposed the growing peril faced by the villagers living in the hills as a bear stormed the premises of Junior High School Harishankar in Pokhari block in district Chamoli, this morning, dragging a young student into nearby undergrowth before others present on the site showed extraordinary courage and managed to rescue the student.
The incident occurred this morning as the students gathered in the school grounds for the start of the school day. Many students expectedly arrived earlier than the revised time and the sudden appearance of a bear and its cub sent children fleeing into classrooms in panic while teachers endeavoured to secure doors against the animal. However, a class six pupil, Aarav, was still grabbed by the bear and hauled some distance before a group of staff and fellow pupils bravely pursued the bear, and they eventually extricated the child from the bushes. The student survived but he sustained multiple claw-inflicted abrasions to his limbs and head according to the hospital sources where the child was taken for treatment.
It may be recalled that this latest incident, follows a similar bear encounter at the same school two days earlier when the animal attempted to force its way into a classroom, leading to fear among parents and educators alike. Accounts from teachers indicate that the adult bear first approached the classroom, prompting the younger children to rush inside, while the cub focused on the remaining students outside, which is indicative of unpredictability of the wild animals’ behaviour in human-dominated landscapes. This attack is among a rising trend of bear incidents in several hill districts of the state.
According to the official figures, the incidents of human-wildlife conflict, particularly involving Asiatic black bears, have reached troubling levels in 2025, with numerous injuries and fatalities recorded statewide as bears increasingly venture into human habitations and agricultural lands in search of food amid habitat loss and ecological pressures. Sources claim that there have been 71 reported bear attacks in Uttarakhand during 2025. This figure has been widely cited in state and national media as the count of human-bear conflict incidents for this year. As per the official sources, these attacks have resulted in seven human fatalities so far in 2025 and at least 44 people have sustained injuries in bear attacks in 2025.
The state Government has responded with a package of measures designed to address these confrontations, including plans to establish district-level wildlife sterilisation and rescue centres, the deployment of solar fencing and sensor-based early-warning systems, and the decentralisation of powers to Forest Department rangers to act swiftly at conflict hotspots.
In many areas, the locals have taken matters into their own hands and they are organising local patrols and escorts to safeguard children on their way to school, while forest officials have instituted dedicated teams to accompany women and school-going children in high-risk zones, along with the installation of lighting and capture cages to deter roaming bears. The conservationists and the authorities attribute the spike in bear sightings and attacks to a combination of factors such as delayed hibernation due to shifting climate patterns, fragmentation and degradation of forest habitats, and the attraction of bears to human food sources where solid waste management is inadequate, forcing the wildlife into closer contact with people than ever before.
