In the early hours today, a forest official of Karimnagar Town heard the news of the entry of a sloth bear into the BSNL office complex near the District Collector's residence and rushed to the spot.
Karimnagar DFO Srinivas quickly got the premises cordoned off with the help of forest and police staff. The office complex being protected by a boundary wall helped prevent the animal entering the nearby houses.
Rescue equipment, including tranquilizers, were obtained from Mancherial district, and a team was called from Warangal to perform the trapping and rescue operation. At around 11 am, the rescue team reached the spot, and after finding the animal in one of the rooms, tranquilized and caged it.
After sometime the bear regained consciousness, and was later safely released into the Raligatkur Reserve Forest of Mancherial in a rescue van under the supervision of the Karimnagar DFO.
The forest officials feel that the bear might have entered the town from the nearby hillocks.