Bear Hunt

The beautiful Kaghan Valley is located in the northern region of western Pakistan. Its climate is very pleasant, similar to that of Kashmir. The area is surrounded on all sides by high mountains, through which clear and transparent streams flow.

In this beautiful valley, at a place called Balakot, Ahsan’s father—who was an officer in the Forest Department—lived in a lovely bungalow. Ahsan and his younger brother Zia used to spend their summer vacations with their father there.

One day, both brothers went out for a walk. Since there was always a danger of wild animals in that area, Ahsan always carried his hunting rifle with him, and that day too the rifle was in his hand. The brothers were walking calmly, talking to each other, when suddenly Ahsan grabbed Zia’s arm and made him stop at once.

“What is it?” Zia asked nervously and looked at Ahsan’s face.

To silence him, Ahsan placed his right hand over Zia’s mouth and immediately fired the rifle ahead. With the shot, he ran toward the bushes across the road and told Zia to follow him. Now Zia understood. He saw a bear cub limping strangely toward them. It had been wounded by the bullet.

As soon as it came close, the cub raised its mouth and paws to attack. Ahsan stepped forward and struck it hard on the mouth with the rifle butt. The bear cub collapsed after struggling for a short while and then died. Ahsan shouted with joy and looked at Zia as if expecting praise for his bravery.

“Shall we take it home now?” Zia said.

“Yes, we will show it to Father,” Ahsan replied.

“But I feel pity for it. Why did you kill the poor creature?” Zia said.

“Why did I kill it? It is a dangerous animal. If I had not killed it, it would have killed us,” Ahsan answered while looking at the dead cub.

But Zia did not respond, because his attention had shifted elsewhere. He looked around in fear. From some distance, a terrifying sound could be heard. Soon both brothers were hearing it clearly, and the sound was coming closer every moment. Suddenly, Ahsan grabbed Zia by the shoulders in panic.

“A bear! The bear has come!”

These words escaped his mouth as a huge black bear appeared before them. With its head lowered, it advanced in a frightening manner. Such terror fell upon the brothers that they could not think clearly. The rifle was in Ahsan’s hand, but he realized that before he could reload and aim, the bear would reach him. He threw the rifle to the ground, climbed a nearby tree, and told Zia to climb another tree immediately.

The bear hurriedly sniffed the ground and reached its cub. It moved the body and smelled it from all sides, as bears can tell whether there is life in a body or not. When it realized that the cub was dead, it let out a painful roar that echoed through the forest and shook the hearts of both brothers. Then it left the cub and charged toward them.

Its eyes were red with rage. First, it came to the tree where Ahsan was sitting in fear. The bear raised its heavy head and looked up at him, then placed its paws on the trunk and began to climb. Zia, sitting on another tree at some distance, watched the scene trembling with fear.

Before the bear could reach Ahsan, Ahsan jumped to a branch of the neighboring tree. The bear could not reach that branch, so it climbed down to approach from below. At that moment, Zia risked his own life to save his brother. He climbed down, picked up the rifle lying on the ground, loaded it, and aimed at the bear.

The bear, which was trying to climb the tree, was wounded by the shot. It turned at once, left Ahsan, Zia threw the rifle away and hurriedly climbed back up the tree.

When they narrated the entire incident to their family, everyone was astonished at their bravery. As a memorial of the brothers’ courage and love, the skins of the bear and its cub were removed and hung on the wall of their room.