Man injured in bear attack in J&K�s Ganderbal

July 21 (IANS) A 40-year-old man was injured on Sunday in a bear attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. Officials identified the man as Bashir Ahmad Chopan of Chopan Mohalla in Manigam village of the district and he was attacked in the morning. “He has been shifted to a hospital in Srinagar city and officials of the wildlife protection department have been alerted about the bear roaming in the area,” officials said. Incidents of man-animal conflict have increased in Kashmir during the last few decades. This is attributed to the increased numbers of wild animals as poaching has been banned under J&K's stringent wildlife protection laws. The other major factor responsible for the man-animal conflict is the encroachment of wildlife habitats by human beings because of the growing human population. Human settlements have come up at places, which are otherwise the ecological habitats of the wild animals. This has brought man and the wild animals into direct conflict and competition, resulting in clashes. --IANS sq/dpb