An Indian gaur died on Sunday and two others were battling for life after they fell into a dry well in a hamlet in Salem.
The animals strayed into the village in search of water.
The Salem Range Conservator of Forests, V. Ganesan, who supervised the rescue operation along with District Forest Officer (Attur Range) R. Rajendiran, told The Hindu that all possible steps were being taken to rescue the animals.
“The three seem to be well-grown and weighing around a tonne or so. The well is deep and rocky. We have sought the assistance of experts from Coimbatore,” he said.
A team of forest officials, with the assistance of two earthmovers and one crane, had mad a ramp to reach out to the trapped animals. Since the well was dry, water in pots was poured into it to provide some relief for the animals. “While one is dead, the other two are surviving with one suffering fracture in legs,” said a forest official.
As the well is located in a remote spot, the rescue operation was stopped after the dusk only to be resumed on Pongal Day tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the help of a veterinarian from Coimbatore Range had been sought to tranquilise them since they “are ferocious.” “We will give them tranquiliser shots and then haul them up,” Mr. Ganesan said.
According to forest officials, a total of 30 gaurs has made the near-by hill their habitat. This is the first incident in which three gaurs got trapped in a well. In 2007, a well-grown met with watery grave when it accidentally fell into irrigation well at Achankuttaipatti near Ayothiapattinam, not far off from the village Idayapatti.
