E-Paper
Indian bison strays into residential area in Pune; dies due to exhaustion
The officials cited cardiac arrest caused due to shock as many people had gathered to see the animal. “The gaur wasn’t used to seeing so many people at a time,” said forest officials.
A Gaur (Indian bison) strayed into Kothrud’s Mahatma Society on Wednesday morning. By noon, the gaur had been tranquillised by forest officials, who took him for medical examination. During the tranquillization, the guar sustained injuries as the animal tried to escape.
However, the gaur died while being taken to the forest. The officials said that after running non-stop for five hours, the animal died due to exhaustion. Rahul Patil, divisional forest officer, Maharashtra Forest Department (Pune Circle), said, “Primary cause of the gaur’s death is high stress due to exertion and increase in the body temperature.”
Some locals spotted the bison, listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red list since 1986, at Mahatma society, which is surrounded by hills. The animal was frightened and probably hurt by stray dogs in the early morning hours, according to resident witnesses.
A team of forest personnel rushed to the spot at 8am and police personnel were also deployed in the area to control the crowd which came out to see the animal. Prima facie, the animal is suspected to have ventured into the residential society from the Mulshi forest area located nearby, said Rahul Patil.
“The forest department sent a team of forest officials who tranquillised him after five hours,” said Patil.
Patil said, “It is surprising for us too to see a gaur so far away from the forest.” Following the spotting of the animal, large number of locals rushed to the spot. Disturbed by the crowd, the animal damaged a few vehicles, including two cars along with entrance gate of a housing society.
Prashant Deshpande, a resident of Mahatma Society and the first one to call the rescue and rehabilitation centre, Katraj, said, “I was woken up by a sound of something crashing in the adjoining open plot at 6.30 am. From my terrace, I saw this tall, large bull, jumping off a wooden plank off the Mahatma Society compound wall and then moving around until he settled under a tree. I immediately called the rescue team and was waiting for them to arrive. Meanwhile, morning walkers had already begun to speculate about the bull and realized that it was an Indian bison.”
Anil Khaire, head of the rescue and rehabilitation centre, Katraj was first on the spot, said, “The bison was hurt and was scared of seeing so many people. When we first approached it with a tranquillizer gun and a protection net to cordon off his run, he jumped over the net and ran into the street. There he ran for almost 12km non-stop and then we captured him by casting a protective net formation and the forest officials took him to Bavdhan transit centre for treatment before transporting him to the jungle near the city.”
However, all this running caused the bison to die due to exhaustion. According to Patil, “We were readying the bison to be taken to Tamhini jungle, when he died due to high pressure, and temperature. People did not cooperate and crowded a lot to see the large bovine, which is one of the vulnerable species. It is an unfortunate incident.”
