Untitled Document

Methods and materials

Separate questionnaires for the hunters / traders, and bear owners / trainers were devised. The questionnaires were administered face to face using the native language Hindustani with adequate Urdu words to put the interviewee at ease, in North India. In Karnataka, Kannada and Hindi were used. The investigators also interviewed a cross section of concerned people; those who owned a bear at present, those who have owned bears in the past but may not have a bear now; those involved in training and dancing, medicating and treating the animals, and those who pierce the nose, cut the claws and pull out the teeth. The investigators also observed the bear being danced in villages, along the tourist routes and while at rest in their homes. They interviewed the audiences, Indian and foreign, rural and city, and discussed the implications of trapping cubs with them. Their attitudes to the training and dancing of the bear was assessed. The investigators also interviewed Adivasis and the tribals actively involved in the hunting and poaching; as also those who did the buying and selling and transporting and witnessed several such transactions. Various officials connected with the Zoo Conservation projects, Wild Life and the Forest Department were interviewed, along with forest rangers and guards.

With the assistance of the Kalandhars, the clan that has been training and dancing bears traditionally for over 300 - 400 years in India, a route was set up “mapping” 29 villages belonging to their clan in four North Indian states, namely Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi. A map showing the route is appended in the Appendices. Similarly a

route was set up “mapping” 7 villages belonging to the Kalandars in Karnataka, South India. These 36 villages were visited by the investigators and 146 questionnaires were administered in their huts where the interaction of man and bear could also be observed; over 40 more people were questioned, and a large quantity of descriptive data was collected from the discussions that ensued.

The North Indian villages visited during this investigation were selected keeping in mind the homogeneity and cohesiveness of the clan; the fact that they marry, settle, and bring up their families within this circle, and although the Kalandhars have migrated to other States of Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra, this particular sub-group in North India has kept to itself. Some of these settlements are also often very old and well established. The investigators set up one route through Karnataka where the Kalandar community has established itself only over the last 40-50 years, in order to compare and contrast any changes in handling, diet, treatment of the captive animal, and to discover new sources for the supply of bear cubs, new trading centres/markets, or information on other settlements of Kalandhars in South India.

While in Phase I of the project the Kalandar villages were visited, in Phase II the investigators accompanied the Kalandar purchasers on a cub-purchasing trip and administered questionnaires to the traders and hunters. A route was set up with the assistance of the Kalandars and modes of capture and transportation were studied, along with a study of the prices the cubs commanded from source to their final destination. The mortality rates during capture, transportation and consequent changes of owners, was also studied, along with an analysis on why the average villager is indifferent to the capture of these cubs; and why the authorities find it difficult to apprehend the poacher and trader.




	Methods and materials	Contents

	Separate questionnaires for the hunters / traders, and bear owners / trainers were devised. The questionnaires were administered face to face using the native language Hindustani with adequate Urdu words to put the interviewee at ease, in North India. In Karnataka, Kannada and Hindi were used. The investigators also interviewed a cross section of concerned people; those who owned a bear at present, those who have owned bears in the past but may not have a bear now; those involved in training and dancing, medicating and treating the animals, and those who pierce the nose, cut the claws and pull out the teeth. The investigators also observed the bear being danced in villages, along the tourist routes and while at rest in their homes. They interviewed the audiences, Indian and foreign, rural and city, and discussed the implications of trapping cubs with them. Their attitudes to the training and dancing of the bear was assessed. The investigators also interviewed Adivasis and the tribals actively involved in the hunting and poaching; as also those who did the buying and selling and transporting and witnessed several such transactions. Various officials connected with the Zoo Conservation projects, Wild Life and the Forest Department were interviewed, along with forest rangers and guards.

	With the assistance of the Kalandhars, the clan that has been training and dancing bears traditionally for over 300 - 400 years in India, a route was set up “mapping” 29 villages belonging to their clan in four North Indian states, namely Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi. A map showing the route is appended in the Appendices. Similarly a

	route was set up “mapping” 7 villages belonging to the Kalandars in Karnataka, South India. These 36 villages were visited by the investigators and 146 questionnaires were administered in their huts where the interaction of man and bear could also be observed; over 40 more people were questioned, and a large quantity of descriptive data was collected from the discussions that ensued.

	The North Indian villages visited during this investigation were selected keeping in mind the homogeneity and cohesiveness of the clan; the fact that they marry, settle, and bring up their families within this circle, and although the Kalandhars have migrated to other States of Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra, this particular sub-group in North India has kept to itself. Some of these settlements are also often very old and well established. The investigators set up one route through Karnataka where the Kalandar community has established itself only over the last 40-50 years, in order to compare and contrast any changes in handling, diet, treatment of the captive animal, and to discover new sources for the supply of bear cubs, new trading centres/markets, or information on other settlements of Kalandhars in South India.

	While in Phase I of the project the Kalandar villages were visited, in Phase II the investigators accompanied the Kalandar purchasers on a cub-purchasing trip and administered questionnaires to the traders and hunters. A route was set up with the assistance of the Kalandars and modes of capture and transportation were studied, along with a study of the prices the cubs commanded from source to their final destination. The mortality rates during capture, transportation and consequent changes of owners, was also studied, along with an analysis on why the average villager is indifferent to the capture of these cubs; and why the authorities find it difficult to apprehend the poacher and trader.
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