A group of bears have become regular attendees at a temple in central India for several years to eat the fruits and sweets distributed by the priest.

Video filmed on September 1 shows one of the sun bears sitting right in front of the temple door, while waiting for the priest to start handing out treats that are normally used as ritual sacraments.

The bears frequent the Mungai Mata temple in the Mahasamund district of Chhatisgarh, and arrive regularly from the hills, patiently waiting for the 'prasadam' to be given out.

The head priest of the temple, Tikeshwar Das Vaishnav, says: "A group of four bears stay at the top of the hill. A few years back one of the bears died in an accident, ever since the bears come down to seek the blessings of the God.

"It hasn’t harmed anyone till this day. It simply comes to get the prasadam everyday without a miss. Nobody goes empty handed from the temple."

A wildlife photographer Satyaparakash Pandey who recorded the bears said: "The prasadam is mainly sweets other than the fruits and this can harm the health of the bears as the animals find it hard to process sugar."

A group of bears is said to have been a regular visitor of a temple in India for several years who come to seek blessings of the devotees and eat the fruits and sweets distributed by the priest.
The bears frequent the Mungai Mata temple in the Mahasamund district of Chhatisgarh amidst the crowd of other devotees. The bears calmly descent from the hill and sits patiently waiting for the Prasadam to be distributed outside the door of the temple.
The video shows the bear sitting right in front of the door of the temple and waiting for the priest to start with the distribution of ‘Prasadam’ and then grabs it and rushes towards the wild.
While the new devotees who visit the temple are taken aback by the calm composure of the wild bear, it is quite common for the devotees who are a frequent visitor like the bear.
The head priest of the temple Tikeshwar Das Vaishnav says, ‘A group of four bear stays on the top of the hill, a few years back one of the bears died in an accident, ever since the bears come down to seek the blessings of the God.’
‘It hasn’t harmed anyone till this day. It simply comes to get the Prasadam everyday without a miss. Nobody goes empty handed from the temple.’ 'The bear loves to drink Frooti (a popular mango drink), so I specially buy them for the bears or the devoties bring frooti & give it to me so when the come I feed them. We do not give it to the other devotees but only the bears.'
The Temple is one of the most famous temple housing Hindu Gods and Godesses. Prasadams are given out to every other devotees including the bears.
A wildlife photographer Satyaparakash Pandey said, ‘The prasadam is mainly sweets other than the fruits and this can harm the health of bear as the animals find it hard to process sugar.’