Nandankanan’s safari guide injured while feeding bear [Watch]

Bhubaneswar: One person sustained injuries in a bear attack while trying to feed the animal at the bear safari on the premises of Nandankanan Zoological Park in Bhubaneswar today afternoon.

Some visitors along with a safari guide were touring the bear safari in a bus provided by the zoo at around 5:15 pm. When the guide attempted to feed a bear while being inside the safari bus, the animal snatched the food. Hence, the tourist guide sustained injuries in palm.

Immediately staff of the safari bus took the injured to the nearby hospital.

Commenting on the incident, Nandankanan Deputy Director Sanjit Kumar said, “The bear has not attacked anyone. Only when the so-called safari guide was trying to feed the bear, it caught hold of the guide’s palm and that’s how he got injured.”

Kumar added as the guide is not the zoo’s employee, action could not be taken against him. Only awareness will be created among the tourist guides and safari guides, who accompany visitors usually, not to feed animals at the zoo.

The safari guide has been identified as Tulu Behera from Daruthenga village.

Streamlining of zoo volunteers and guide systems is under progress so that they will be more professional and well-behaved, the zoo official added.