At least seven people were injured after bears ventured in residential areas and attacked people in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Monday.

The bear attacks were reported Sunday evening at villages Laisoo- Devser of district Kulgam and Kathpora-Chursoo of Pulwama, south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "Three people were injured in a bear attack in village Laisoo and four others were injured in a similar attack in Kathpora," a police spokesman said.

All the injured were immediately hospitalized and their condition was stated to be stable.

Police said the bear at Laisoo was chased by villagers, while as the other one at Kathpora was killed by officials of region's Wildlife department.

The bears had ventured into the two villages from nearby forest areas.

Wildlife officials said the bears accidentally stray into residential areas in search of food. "Usually before the onset of winter these wild animals sometimes venture into human habitation but feel insecure and resort to attacking people," said a Wildlife official. "At times these wild animals are attacked by scared villagers in retaliation which proves fatal for them also."

There are strict laws in force in the region against the killing of wild animals.Wildlife expert say mass urbanization, denudation of forests, encroachment of forestland, vanishing of buffer zones in the forests and extraction of medicinal plants are some of the reasons responsible for increasing conflict between man and animals.Last month an elderly man was mauled to death by a bear. Endi

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