IWN Report — Tuesday, 6 October 2026

Three orphaned Asiatic black bear cubs left the Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC) on 24 September for a pre-release site inside Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, a 26-kilometre journey on foot and elephant back that begins the return to the forest for animals who arrived at the centre as babies between March and June.

According to the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), a joint team from the organisation and the state’s Department of Environment, Forest & Climate Change travelled with the cubs. They will stay at the pre-release site for a few months to acclimatise before an eventual release into the reserve, and WTI says it hopes they will be ready after five to six months of gradual exploration with experienced animal keepers. The organisation describes the cubs as reactive and healthy.

Three Rescues

WTI says the first cub reached the centre on 27 March from Doimukh, near Itanagar, after being taken from a few people who were allegedly trying to sell it. It was around four to five weeks old. The second came in the next day, found alone in an agricultural field and handed to the Forest Department by a local resident, Wanghoan Lettey, at roughly one month old.

The third arrived on 11 June from Dugi Village, after a social media post by someone who had kept the bear as a pet was followed up. It was about two to three months old at admission, which means all three have now spent between three and a half and six months in the centre’s care.

WTI notes that the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and sits under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The centre is run jointly by the Arunachal Pradesh department and WTI, with support from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), and WTI says nearly 50 bears have been rehabilitated back into the wild since it opened in 2002.

Sources: Wildlife Trust of India (25 September 2026) · WTI — CBRC project page