Updated: December 22, 2020 2:44:03 pm
A gaur is seen in Pune on Tuesday. (Express photos: Arul Horizon)
Two weeks after a gaur ventured into a residential town in Kothrud, another was seen in the Bavdhan suburb of Pune on Tuesday morning. First had died due to suspected exhaustion after he was captured by forest department officials.
Police and officials from the Pune Forestry Division confirmed that a gaur was seen in Bavdhan, near Lake Pashan. The site of the sighting is adjacent to the Defense area where several facilities of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) are located. The forest department team has launched a rescue operation, while police teams are deployed for crowd control.
SEE | Another gaur sighted in #Pune, rescue operation underway https://t.co/BHoVIzjrKx pic.twitter.com/2ufy4fiBMo
– Express PUNE (@ExpressPune) December 22, 2020
Maharashtra Chief Conservator of Forests Nitin Kakodkar confirmed to The Indian Express that after receiving information about the sighting, teams were sent to the area and a rescue operation began. A police officer said additional teams from the Hinjewadi and Chatushrungi police stations were being dispatched to the area.
On December 9, a male gaur, also known as the Indian bison, aged between three and four years old, was spotted in the Mahatma Society, a residential area of Kothrud. Residents informed forest department officials and police, municipal corporation personnel, and fire personnel were subsequently dispatched to the area.
Forest and police officials in Bavdhan on Tuesday morning.
After an initial attempt by forest department staff to reassure him, the gaur ran to an adjacent town, where he had to confront a rebellious crowd, which, according to forest officials, increased his panic. After running more than three kilometers, the animal was tranquilized and captured. However, he died after being transferred to a traffic treatment center.
The primary post-mortem report suggested that the animal was suffering from respiratory failure leading to cardiovascular failure, shock, and death, possibly due to exhaustion and stress. Authorities had said the gaur may have ventured into the city from the contiguous Mulshi and Tamhini forest areas. They also said that on rare occasions in the past, gaurs have traveled long distances from the forests in Mahabaleshwar in Satara through connecting corridors to enter the forest areas adjoining the city of Pune.
A gaur was seen in Kothrud two weeks ago. (Express photo: Ashish Kale)
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