PUNE: A gaur (Indian bison) was lost to a residential area in the Maharashtra city of Pune on Wednesday morning, causing panic among residents, and died after being captured by a forestry team, authorities said.
Divisional Forest Conservator Rahul Patil said the animal may have died due to stress or increased body temperature, but they are trying to determine the exact cause of death.
The gaur, also called the Indian bison, has been listed as “ vulnerable ” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 1986.
Around 7.30 am, some locals saw the animal at the Mahatma Residential Society in the Kothrud plush area here and alerted the forest department, he said.
Prima facie, the animal was suspected of venturing into residential society from the nearby Mulshi forest area, Patil said.
A team of forestry personnel was transferred to the scene and police personnel were also deployed to the area to control the crowd that came out to see the gaur.
“The forestry team used tranquilizers and managed to rescue the bison around 1pm,” said another forestry official, adding that the animal had some mouth wounds and will be given medical assistance before being released into a forest.
However, the bison later died, Patil said, adding that they are investigating the exact cause of the animal’s death.
“Death is not due to injury, but it could be due to high stress and increased body temperature of the animal,” he said.
In a similar incident in May this year, a bison entered a town in the city of Mangaluru in Karnataka. The animal was reassured and later died.
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