Last monsoon, a small guest house in Sauraha, Chitwan, woke up to chaos. The kitchen had been destroyed. A family of sloth bears had smelled leftover daal bhat (lentils and rice). The owner, Ram Bahadur, recalls: "Maile bhaney, 'Nepali bhalu haru guest house ma aayo!' (I said, the Nepali bears have come into the guest house!). They had smashed the pickle jars and finished the curd."
If you hear the phrase Bhalu aayo in a guest house in Langtang or Manaslu, do not go outside. The Himalayan Black Bear is notoriously aggressive, especially during the monsoon season when they cannot find wild berries. Nepali Bhalu haru Guest House ma