Indian man went on the run with bear

An Indian man went on the run with his pet bear after authorities threatened to remove the animal.

Rani, a young female sloth bear, has been living with Ramesh Munda, of Orissa, since she was two months old.

According to Mr Munda, she followed him home one day when she saw him collecting firewood in the jungle, and has since been sleeping alongside his three-year-old daughter and living with his family.


Photo from here.

But when local officials learned of the Munda family's wild member, they ordered the bear be handed over to a local zoo.

Instead Mr Munda and Rani went on the run, evading a police dragnet and three wildlife officials for several days before Mr Munda was finally caught and charged for breaking India's wildlife laws.

Ramesh Munda is now in jail and Rani has found a new home at Nandan Kanan Zoo.