By The News Observer Desk,
Joida: A sloth bear continued its rampage in the Gund forest zone of Nandigadda Gram Panchayat on Tuesday night, destroying several beehives belonging to local farmers in Shevali village.
Padmanabh Desai, a resident of Shevali, reported that a bear raided two beehives placed near his house, devouring the honey and wrecking the boxes. The same animal, which had attacked multiple beehives belonging to Srinath Desai of Karemanne in the same village two days ago, struck again on Tuesday night. Later that night, it also destroyed four beehives owned by Sudhakar Desai of Hosamanne.
Each damaged hive reportedly contained up to two kilograms of honey, causing significant financial loss to the affected families.
Beekeeping has become a popular supplementary income source for farmers in Joyida taluk. Many keep beehives in their areca nut plantations to earn additional revenue and offset farming expenses. However, repeated bear attacks over the past few days have left the farming community distressed and worried.
“The broken boxes have scattered thousands of bees. Collecting them back into new or repaired hives is extremely difficult and time-consuming. Not all bees return, and many colonies are lost,” a local beekeeper said.
The bear menace has escalated to the point where parents are now afraid to let small children play outside or even walk to school alone.
Villagers have raised serious concerns over the origin of the marauding bear. “We have always co-existed peacefully with local wildlife. When elephants, tigers, or bears appear, people quietly give way and the animals move on. Conflicts with humans or cattle were rare,” a resident said. “But these recent incidents make us suspect that the problem animals are not local — they may have been translocated and released here from other areas.”
With at least three farmers already hit in the past few days, fear and anxiety grip the village as residents wonder where the bear will strike next.
Local people have urged the Forest Department to immediately stop the practice of translocating and releasing problem bears, tigers, and elephants into the region, stating that such actions are disrupting the long-standing harmony between the community and native wildlife.
