In the third case of man-animal conflict in the district in the new year, a man died after being attacked by a sloth bear today.
The incident took place near village Dhaba in Gondpipri tehsil of the district, 75 km from here.
Satish Kodrupwar (30), who had hearing impairment and could not speak, was attacked by a bear on Dhaba - Hivra road this morning.
"The animal might have thought him to be a threat to its cub and attacked. The bear ripped open his skull, resulting in instant death," said Range Forest Officer S N Bhandari.
When Bhandari and other forest officers rushed to the spot, they found the bear cub sitting on the dead body but the mother was nowhere to be seen.
The cub is 4 months old and would be released after the mother is tracked down.
Rs 10,000 were paid as ex-gratia to the relatives of the victim.
Two tiger attack deaths have been reported in the district in the last four days.
