Guwahati, Aug. 2: Manas National Park, is giving a new lease of life to three little Himalayan black bears.

The cubs — two females and one male, all under six months of age — were rescued from Kumarikata in Udalguri district and Jalah in Barpeta district of Assam, the field director of Manas National Park, A. Swargiari, said.

The cubs were then brought to Saraikhola mobile veterinary centre in Kokrajhar for medical treatment.

They were shifted to Manas in the last week of July and are now being reared at Rabang on the Indo-Bhutan border, where they will ultimately be released after six months. By this time, the official said, the bears will get a feel of wildlife conditions and be able to go on their own.

“They are being given the best of care and are being acclimatised in real conditions. We are trying our best to give them a new lease of life,” Swargiari said.

Usually, after poachers kill their parents, the abandoned cubs are raised either as pets, entertainment animals or in some other form of captivity.

Manas has 35 Himalayan black bears at present.

The wildlife sanctuary provides a habitat for many endangered species, including 21 species listed in the Red Data Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

A joint monitoring mission, comprising officials from the IUCN and Unesco, had visited Manas from March 11 to 19 to review the progress made by the park in implementation of the corrective measures suggested at the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in 2005.

The mission submitted its report at the 32nd session of World Heritage Committee session held in Quebec.

Poaching remains a major concern for all the vulnerable, rare or endangered species in the park such as tiger, pygmy hog, swamp deer, elephant and bears.

“Special efforts have been made to increase security in the proposed rhino release sector between Basbari and Bhuyapara . This includes construction of additional camps, improvement of tracks, more patrolling equipment and additional manpower,” the report added.