Bear kills militants in Kashmir

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009

A bear killed two militants and wounded another — he escaped with yet another militant — when the Muslim separatists set up camp inside the bear’s cave, in Kulgam district, south of Srinagar:

The militants had assault rifles but were taken by surprise — police found the remains of pudding they had made to eat when the bear attacked.

I can only imagine what a bear would do when shot with an AK-47. It’s not a powerful rifle — but it does have a high rate of fire.

Apparently the conflict in Kashmir has increased the population of bears and leopards:

Following the outbreak of the insurgency people had to hand in their weapons to police — which put a halt to poaching.

As a result, there has been a greater incidence of man-animal conflict, say experts.

I’m surprised by two things: (1) that the Indian government would want to disarm Indians in Kashmir, and (2) that poachers would be the least bit affected by a ban on weapons.

(Hat tip to Todd.)

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