A YOUNG bear cub found wandering alone with a badly injured leg has been rescued from the forests of India.

The sloth bear named Rose lost her left paw most probably due to a poacher’s snare, International Animal Rescue (IAR) has said.

The Uckfield animal charity is funding the three-month-old's care and treatment at a bear rescue centre.

Villagers in Amoni, Bhopal, found her wandering in search of food, becoming progressively thinner and finding it more difficult to walk because of her mangled foreleg.

Mr Sanjay Pathak, range officer at Van Vihar National Park, was called and contacted vet Dr Niraj Dahe at the Van Vihar Bear Rescue Centre.

The facility, managed by Wildlife SOS of India and funded by IAR, is home to 28 rescued dancing bears and provides them with a peaceful and pain-free retirement after years of abuse and neglect on India’s streets.

With the help of forest department officials, the rescue team tracked down the cub and caught her before she fell prey to a larger animal.

She was terrified and shaking violently. Her left paw was severed and severely infected. She was extremely weak and emaciated and was put on antibiotics while the wound was dressed daily.

Dr Dahe said: "We’re giving her some time to settle into her new surroundings, as she is currently deeply traumatised and very frightened."

Alan Knight, chief executive of the IAR, said: "The sight and sound of this little cub trying to walk is just pitiful. She must have spent weeks in agony, from the moment when she was first caught in the snare and every single minute since then.

"The pain from the infected wound must have been excruciating.

"In addition, this poor baby is without her mother who should still be protecting and caring for her. We will never know what happened to the mother bear but Rose’s story illustrates how vulnerable wild bears are to threats from poachers, wildlife traders and smugglers.

"Her escape from the snare may have cost her a foreleg but it probably saved her from an even more gruesome fate. Wild bears in India are much in demand for their body parts or to be smuggled further afield for bear dancing or baiting."

Mr Knight is travelling to India on February 20 to see what else can be done to help her recover.