Nararthali (Alipurduar) Nov. 29: The forest staff today rescued a female sloth bear from the village in Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), after she came hunting for her cubs that had died on Saturday, thanks to the negligence of the staff.

According to villagers, since the death of the cubs, the mother bear kept coming to the village every night, hunting for them.

The villagers found the sloth bear hiding in a bamboo grove around 5.30 this morning. They informed the forest officials, who reached the spot around 11 am. A tranquilising team, led by veterinary surgeon P. Mandal, also reached the area around 12 noon.

The forest staff surrounded the bush with a net, keeping one side open. As firecrackers were burst, the scared animal ran into another grove that was surrounded by a net. Cornered, the bear was shot with tranquillisers and put into a cage. She was later released in a forest under the BTR around 4.30 pm, a source said.

?After rescuing the sloth bear, our staff from the Narathali beat released it in the forest of the BTR. The effect of the tranquilliser has already worn off and it has become almost normal,? said P. Kamalakant, the deputy field director of BTR (east).