Regional
TikTok-famed bear cub taken into custody
The Punjab Wildlife Department (PWD) took the possession of a baby bear from a house in Bagh Sardar area of Rawalpindi after TikTok videos featuring the animal went viral.
PWD Assistant Director, Rizwana Aziz, Inspectors Amjad Abbasi, and Kashif Mehmood went to the house and took the bear cub into custody and produced it before a court. Civil Judge Ahmed Shehzad Gondal instructed the representatives of PWD to transfer of the bear cub to Lahore Zoo.
According to the reports, the wild baby bear was bought by wildlife conservationist Anila Amir from poachers in the Neelum Valley of Azad Kashmir who wanted to sell it for a hefty price.
As per Anila, she didn’t have enough money to buy the wild animal from the poachers so she collected money from her parents, siblings, friends, and servant.
The wildlife conservationist added that the baby bear was badly injured when she bought it and different parts of the body had wounds that were infected with pus. She said the cub could not eat anything so she used to feed it milk with the help of a feeder.
The wildlife conservationist further said that the cost of treatment of the animal was quite high. However, within two months, his wounds healed and now it was able to eat fish.
Anila demanded that the government should ensure proper planning for the conservation and reproduction of endangered wildlife. She also offered her services as a frontline field worker in this regard.
PWD Assistant Director (AD) Rizwana Aziz added that they took immediate action and recovered the cub upon seeing its video on social media. She expressed satisfaction that the cub was brought up with great care.