Three bears died of electrocution, after coming into contact with a live snapped electric wire, at Kallusadarahalli, in Arsikere taluk, Hassan district, on Tuesday morning. They include a six-year-old male bear, a female bear and a one-year-old cub.
The electricity cable had snapped, due to heavy rains and strong winds in the village, on Monday night. The bears, which strayed into the village, in search of food, stomped on the live wire and were electrocuted.
The farmers, who visited their fields on Tuesday morning, noticed the carcass of the bears from a distance and observed the snapped electricity wire. They immediately alerted the CESC officials.
If the incident had not occurred, the farmers visiting their fields might have been electrocuted, coming into contact with the live wire, the villagers claim.
Forest department personnel conducted the post-mortem and performed the final rites of the bears.