Students of Orchids-The International School adopted a young Sloth Bear
Bengaluru : As part Orchids – The International School’s on-going effort to bring awareness regarding endangered species conservation in India, students from our Vijayanagar branch have adopted an 11-year-old Sloth bear named Hamsi from the Bannerghatta Zoo. The school has collaborated with Wildlife SOS, one of the largest Wildlife Organisations in South Asia, for this initiative and have recently completed all necessary clearances to adopt the sloth bear.
While speaking on the occasion, Ms. Jeeva Rekha, Principal of Orchids – The International School, Vijayanagara branch said, “We are delighted to share that our branch took this noble initiative of animal adoption in collaboration with Wildlife SOS. The project has been completely driven by the students; from collecting funds to coordinating with the officials. By working on this project, our students got better knowledge of how wildlife conservation and management relates to environment. We feel ecstatic to see our students inculcating the right values and working towards wild life conservation.”
OIS students actively participated in a community service event at Bannerghatta Rescue Center. They cleaned the premises, painted the surroundings and planted saplings.
Details of the adopted Sloth bear:
Name: Hamsi
DOB: 11 years
Total Fund collected: INR 50,000
Total Number of Contributors: 125 students and teachers
Duration of collection: 1 month
Branch of OIS school – Vijayanagara
Puja Deb, Senior Mobilization Officer of Wildlife SOS said, “Wildlife Conservation ensures that future generations can enjoy our natural world and the incredible species that live within it. We need young folks like the students of OIS to step forward and be the voice for the voiceless and contribute to the cause in whatever means possible. Wildlife conservation is the need of the hour!”
India has 90% of the World’s Sloth bear population. The sloth bear is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 which provides for their legal protection. The government of India has banned the use of sloth bears for entertainment under the ‘Sloth Bear Welfare Project’. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, there are around 6,000-10,000 sloth bears in India.