Sloth bear
Sloth bear
A 42-year-old tribal woman from Amlipanichhotra village in Devgarh Baria taluka of Dahod district died in a sloth bear attack under the Saagtala range of the biodiversity zone of the forest department on Friday, forest department officials said.

The victim, Sanjli Mashru Rathwa, had taken her cattle to graze when she was attacked by the bear, the officials said. The forest department recovered Rathwa's body late on Friday night.

RM Parmar, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Devgarh Baria), said the incident was the first fatal conflict involving a sloth bear in the Saagtala range this year. Parmar said, "We received a call on Friday evening that a woman from a nearby village was attacked by a sloth bear when she went into the forest. Our teams went in search of the victim and found her body in a remote location within the forest. The body has been sent for post mortem."

Parmar said sloth bears are omnivorous animals and attack humans only in defence or owing to perceived threat. "The species of sloth bears that we have here are omnivores and survive on forest fruits and insects... They are not predatory in nature but females tend to become aggressive in the months of December and January as it is their postpartum phase. The female sloth bears generally give birth to their litter in December and January in a den, after a seven-month gestation from their mating season in June. It is likely that the victim unknowingly strayed near the bear cubs, causing the mother bear to attack," Parmar said.

The official added that the woman suffered injuries on her head, face and neck. "We have paid a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to her kin as per the policy," Parmar said.