Titilagarh: Titilagarh town residents today heaved a sigh of relief after a wild bear, which had strayed into the town and created commotion and fear, returned to nearby forest late Friday night.
The Forest department sources confirmed the return of the wild bear to its natural habitation.
Earlier, the wild animal was first spotted in ward no 12 of the town on Friday morning. Later the animal had strayed into a mango orchard after it was driven away by the locals.
After receiving information, personnel of Forest department, Fire Services and local police had launched a special operation to capture the wild bear in the mango orchard. However, eight persons including a forest department staff were injured during the operation.
Later, the animal sneaked into bushy areas near the Hatapada DAV College in ward no 15 of the town.