After a gap of almost seven years, naturalists and birdwatchers have confirmed the presence of the Himalayan brown bear inside the Rakchham Chitkul Wildlife Sanctuary, the State Forest and Wildlife Department said on Thursday.

A sow and her two cubs were photographed inside the sanctuary area, the forest department said. They were first sighted during the Bird Count-2026 held on May 9 in the wildlife sanctuary.

Ashok Negi (IFS), DCF (Wildlife), said, “This is the second confirmed photographic evidence of the Himalayan Brown Bear in the sanctuary area. The first photographic record from the region was documented during 2016-17 by wildlife expert Gopal Negi. This remarkable observation marks another important photographic record of the species from the sanctuary and is considered a significant milestone for wildlife conservation in the region.”

Officials said the presence of the species was confirmed by the field team comprising Beat Forest Officer (BFO) Santosh Kumar Thakur, renowned birdwatcher Garry Bhatti and his team members Biswarup Satpati and Rahul Deb Mandal, who first sighted the bear.

BFO Thakur said, “Himalayan brown bears, also known as Asiatic brown bears, have been seen in this landscape in the past as well. However, this time the team was able to secure strong photographic evidence of a female bear with her cubs, making the observation highly significant. The presence of cubs indicates a healthy and suitable habitat for the species in the sanctuary.”

Garry Bhatti said, “After the landscapes of Lahaul, the Rakchham-Chitkul region is emerging as one of the important habitats in Himachal Pradesh for observing Himalayan brown bears in the wild.”

In May last year, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) conducted a study, and stressed the need to develop and safeguard protected areas for brown bears, especially in the high-altitude regions of the state. Sightings of brown bears in the high-altitude areas of Jammu & Kashmir are relatively frequent.

The Himalayan bear is considered one of the largest mammals of the Himalayan mountain ranges. An omnivorous species, it feeds on a wide variety of food sources ranging from vegetation and roots to insects and small animals. Known for its exceptionally strong sense of smell, the species can detect food and scents from several kilometres away. Wildlife experts also highlight the important ecological role played by the bear in maintaining Himalayan biodiversity, particularly through seed dispersal across high-altitude ecosystems.