E-Paper
Civic sense among onlookers could have saved the gaur, says Pune forest officer Rahul Patil
District forest officer Rahul Patil who led the forest department mission to rescue an Indian bison that strayed into a housing society shares the challenges involved in such efforts.
The forest department was caught in an uncanny situation when an Indian bison (gaur) showed up in city on Wednesday morning. While the foresters were equipped, the sudden experience threw a challenge at them which eventually ended in the death of the wild and shy animal. Following are the excerpts from an interview with district forest officer Rahul Patil, Indian Forest Service officer, who led the rescue operation.
What went wrong with the crowd management at the site?
An Indian bison had first shown up in Katraj a long time ago. It was after 15-20 years that a gaur shown up again. After reaching the spot at 8 am, even we were not convinced that it was gaur (Indian bison). We cordoned off Mahatma Phule Society. Whatever equipment were required for the operation - net, tranquiliser gun, medicine, antidote - everything was available. At the same time, a mob at Mahatma Phule society was cooperative. When it left the bungalow property, it got injured and we suspect that the animal had received injury even before it strayed to Katraj. He was also unhealthy. Once he crossed over the compound wall, the crowd of watchers increased. Then he crossed the main road and even the police department’s cooperation could not help. What was required was an inherent civic sense among residents, those taking pictures, chasing him, throwing stones at the shy animal. We tried to trap him by the horns at one location, but onlookers were distracting him. This was happening to an animal who was already scared as it had left its natural habitat. The gaur does not harm anyone intentionally, but if it had dashed into anyone, it would have killed 4-5 people instantly.
What was the cause of death? The perception was that forest officials could have saved the animal.
The cause of death, after the post-mortem, was found to be respiratory insufficiency, cardiovascular failure, stress and shock. It had sustained an injury on the nose which had already made breathing difficult. Plus, within a short period, it ran about 4-5km distance. There was internal bleeding and the body temperature was up too. As far as role of forest officials was concerned, I was part of an operation where a tigress called Shivni had killed six people and there were orders to shoot that animal. Shooters were ready too, but I did not allow them to kill the animal. Why would I do something to jeopardise this animal’s life? In fact, the regional forest officer had said that he will handle the situation and my presence was not required. During the rescue operation, I was standing near a fire brigade vehicle and the bison was near a Scorpio just in front of the fire brigade vehicle. I knew it was there but I could not sense or see him. I was trying to tell the fire officer to move him with the help of water, but it ran in my direction. Had I been even one step ahead, the dash could have been fatal.
How did a bison landed in Pune city?
We need to realise that the forest department can bring about restrictions only in some areas. But there are hills which are privately owned forest areas where construction has started. Subsequently, we have disturbed the wild habitat of these animals. Gaurs can be found in Tamhini ghat where construction of resorts and other buildings has happened. The corridors of these animals - the routes that provide connection between two locations - have been disturbed. The natural corridors passing through Mumbai, Lonavla, Kolhapur, Radhanagari and other areas have been destroyed.
How should we prepare for such a situation?
Today, it was a gaur, tomorrow it could very well be a leopard. We can only try to talk to people, not the animals. Leopards have already started showing up in Bhilarewadi area of Katraj. There is construction activity in that area. From Bhilwarewadi to Swargate is barely 10km, leopard can easily cross it. This was a major learning experience. Irrespective of NGOs, we are creating a ward-wise volunteer base of 5-10 people. We are planning to register their details like phone number. There is a golden hour after sighting. These people may save casualties in that period before foresters can reach the spot. They will be trained in wildlife management.
