CANACONA: The injured Indian bison (gaur), with an eye missing from the eye socket and the other eye also damaged probably in a fight with another Gaur and who was seen moving dangerously close to human habitation about one kilometre from the Canacona police station, was found dead on Saturday evening.
It may be recalled, last week, Herald had published a photo of the injured adult male gaur that was having difficulty in seeing and was seen dangerously close to a locality at Sacrewall, Mastimol here in Canacona.
Former councillor of Canacona Municipal Council Dilip Kenkre alleged that the gaur died due to indifferent attitude of the wild life department.
Kenkre alleged that the gaur was spotted in the locality about eight days ago and immediately the forest department was informed about the injured gaur.
Kenkre said that he demanded immediate action from DCF Anil Shetgaonkar on Saturday morning, the day the gaur was found dead, to dart it with tranquilliser and shift it for medical treatment.
However, Kenkre, alleged that the forest department seems ill equipped to handle such emergencies as neither they came with a tranquilliser gun nor they had machinery to shift such a huge animal which at an adult stage attains 1000 kgs in weight.
Nandu Naik, a differently-abled local and who stays within hundred meters were this injured mammal had strayed into, told Herald that he ran for his life when this gaur came to attack him when he had gone to his cashew plantation.
He alleged that all these eight days the forest department kept a watch on this animal but didn’t do anything to medically treat it and take it out of danger.
When Herald spoke DCF Anil Shetgaonkar for clarifications, he said they were able to revive the injured gaur and it was pushed in the forest, later it got separated from the herd as it had difficulty in seeing as there was injury to his eyes and was not able to keep pace with the herd.
When his department got a call again, they acted swiftly, and a trap was kept ready to shift the injured gaur to the rescue centre at Hathipal, Partagal, after tranquillising the animal.
But before they could come to the site with the required equipments they got a call from his staff deputed at the site that the animal has breathed his last.
“Since the gaur is a Schedule-I animal, after proper post mortem, results expected by coming Tuesday, the forest team incinerated the ill fated animal at Sacrewall, Canacona on Saturday evening,” said Shetgaonkar.
