Video of wild bears playing football in Odisha goes viral

Two wild bears kicking a football around and running after it near a patch of forest in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district has gone viral over social media

Updated on: Sep 14, 2021, 17:05:35 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Two wild bears kicking a football around and running after it near a patch of forest in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district has gone viral over social media.

After playing for a while, the bears took the football along with them inside the forest. (HT photo)

In the video shot by a youth who was playing with his friends in Sukigaon village under Umerkote block of the district, a mother bear is seen pushing the ball around while her cub watched it from a distance. Nabarangpur DFO Magar Dhanaji Raoso said children were playing football when the two bears suddenly appeared from the forest on Sunday afternoon.

“They were frightened and ran away when they saw the bears. Moments later, the boys found that the bears were not interested in chasing them and actually started playing with the football on the ground. They continued kicking and tossing it up with their legs and mouths. After playing for a while, the bears took the football along with them inside the forest,” said Raoso.

A local villager, who was present when the bears were playing with the football, said the animals probably ventured out for food. “Though there have been instances of bear attack in Nabarangpur, these two did not turn violent. We were initially scared, but were later amused to see the two bears playing,” said a tribal villager of Sukigaon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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