Citation

Atreya A, Kanchan T, Nepal S, Acharya J. Med. Leg. J. 2016; 84(2): 94-96.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Medico-Legal Society, Publisher SAGE Publications)

DOI

10.1177/0025817216630479

PMID

26857074

Abstract

Upper Mustang in the Northern Himalayan range of Nepal is the home of brown bears (Ursusarctos). Low-plant biomass as a result of scanty rainfall in Upper Mustang is a reason for habitat overlap of humans and wild animals. Humans who enter into the wild to collect firewood and graze cattle are liable to wild animal attacks. Such attacks, especially by brown bears, are readily identified by the type of injuries. These are more commonly confined to head and neck regions. Cutting, gnawing and tearing by sharp teeth and claws produces specific pattern of injuries, which are devastating but seldom fatal. This article reports a rare case of brown bear injury inflicted upon a man from the Upper Mustang region in Nepal.

Language: en