Residents of some of the tiny hilly hamlets on the fringes of Neora Valley National Park are facing a new problem nowadays.

Himalayan black bears stray out of the forest and damage farmers’ apiculture and take away poultry and cattle at night hours and sometimes, even during the daytime in the Gorubathan block of Kalimpong district.

The bears, which usually go into hibernation during the winter, descended from upper reaches of the forest this year and were “stealing” honey from apiaries.

Several residents of villages like Khasmahal, Mandalgaon and Samsingphari in the Gorubathan block are into beekeeping.

The villages are located close to the Matialli block in Jalpaiguri district.

“Many of us are into apiculture but these days, the bear has become botheration for us. I had kept apiaries with assistance from the state government. Bears have entered my premises, damaged the apiaries and have eaten honey. Owners of a number of smaller poultry farms suffered losses as bears often broke into wooden houses where the poultry was kept and took away chicks,” said Lukit Lepcha, a resident of Khasmahal.

In the current winter, straying of bears was reported from a number of locations in Kalimpong district and the neighbouring Dooars of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts. A number of bears were trapped at various places and later released in the wild. Such cases were reported from Sikkim as well.

Senior forest department officers and biologists said they were trying to find out why the animal, instead of going into hibernation, was descending downhill for food during the winter.

Rupesh Lepcha, a resident of Mandalgaon, said the intrusion of bears, which he claimed he had witnessed for the first time in the past 30-35 years, forced villagers to form squads to keep tabs on the animal.

“These days, cattle and poultry are taken away by bears almost every night from some place or the other. That is why we have formed squads which roam around the village at night to prevent bears from entering our hamlet,” said Rupesh.

He said the bear also damaged vegetables and other crops cultivated in the vicinity of the homes while the animal entered the villages.

Bears pose threat to the farmers at other villages like Dalimkhola, Raigaon, Gorubathan-Tar and Paparkheti in the Gorubathan block. Around 25,000 people live at over 12 villages in the block.

“The villagers have sighted bears even during daytime. We suspect the animals are hiding in vegetation and sneaking into the hamlets for food,” said a resident.

Officers of the Samsing forest range of the Neora Valley National Park said they had laid two cages with poultry as bait to trap the animals in Khasmahal and Mandalgaon.

“We are keeping tabs on the entire area. Our men are also trying to find out how many bears are roaming around. The villagers were asked to be on alert,” said Sahadeb Giri, the Samsing forest range officer.