Wayanad: Forest department personnel heaved a sigh of relief on Wednesday as the bear roaming around the farming villages of Mananthavadi Taluk in Wayanad district took a detour back into the jungle at Neykkuppa near Nadavayal. A team headed by North Wayanad DFO Martin Lowell and South Wayanad DFO Shajna Karim were on a massive hunt for the animal.

According to Karim, the animal which entered human habitats at Edavaka Panchayath found its way back to the jungle on Wednesday night.

"During the search operations, the Rapid Response Team had spotted the animal roaming at Chenjadi. The team drove it to the direction of the jungle after blocking all other options to re-enter human habitats,” she said.

First spotted on January 21 at Thonichal in the Edavaka Panchayath, the public and forest department personnel were on the fourth day of combing operations to ferret out the animal.

As the animal managed to enter a home at Peechamkode, the region's residents were scared to keep the doors of houses open even during daytime. The inmates found the animal running out of the house with a bottle of coconut oil and trying to open it on a neighbouring farm. The animal ran off after they created a hue and cry.

It was also alleged that the bear made a futile attempt to break open the window of the store room at Government LP School, Peechangode on Monday. The animal also allegedly broke into the kitchen of St Sebastian’s Church, Kommayad, on the same day. The wild bear had left residents on tenterhooks for the past few days.