After a bison or Indian Gaur which had strayed into the city and rescued later died on Tuesday, another was sighted in the city early on Wednesday.
The second one was spotted in Ashok Nagar residential area at 2 a.m. It was later found in Kodical residential area at 4.30 a.m. It was sighted last at 5.30 a.m. in Kuluru area, V. Karikalan, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Dakshina Kannada told The Hindu .
The DCF said that five teams, comprising 30 persons, are trying to drive the animal out of the city area to the outskirts. The teams are now searching for it in Bangra Kuluru area including the area close to the National Highway 66 (Goa-Kerala national highway).
As the animal is suspected to be in the Bangra Kuluru, which is close to the river Phalguni, the teams will aim to drive it out to the outskirts. If not it will have to be caught as a last resort, he said.
He said that the bison tranquillised and rescued on Tuesday is suspected to have died due to cardiac arrest after it was released in the Western Ghats in the Charmadi Ghat area in the evening. The post-mortem report is expected on Wednesday.
The DCF said that after the bison was darted and tranquillised, it had taken about 45 minutes for it to reach the state of immobilisation. It had been loaded to a vehicle using a crane only later. The animal was awake when it was released in the Charmadi Ghat area, he said.
Mr. Karikalan said that a qualified veterinarian from Pilikula Biological Park in the city having more than five years of experience had tranquillised it. Hence there is no reason to suspect the over dosage of tranquiliser as alleged by some animal rights activists. The same veterinarian had tranquillised the leopard found caught in a snare in MRPL area and which had been released in the Western Ghats later. There was no issue in this operation, he said.
“While rescuing the animal in the city on Tuesday we gave equal weightage to animal safety and public safety as the animals was roaming in the heart of the city,” the DCF said.
“But it is unfortunate that it died later. We too regret it. The animal might have also suffered shocks after it was captured,” he said.
