Gaur kills man in Chikmagalur, another gaur shot dead

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: An Indian gaur killed a person near Thotaduru in Kalasa Taluk of Chikmagalur district on Wednesday. With this, four persons have been killed in wild animal attacks in the coffee land of Chikmagalur in the last two to three months. This has once again brought to the fore the man-animal conflict in the region.

According to information reaching here, the deceased has been identified as Somashekar, 45, of Thotaduru. The incident occurred when he was working on an arecanut farm. An Indian gaur came from behind and attacked him with its horns. He succumbed to injuries on the spot. Police have registered a case.

Meanwhile, an Indian Gaur was shot dead by some miscreants and its body was found in the Mattigodu Forest range in Kodagu district on Wednesday. According to sources, the carcass of the big-built Indian Gaur was found on Tithimathi-Hunsur-Mysuru State Highway 90 in the Mattigodu forest range.

Upon receipt of information, senior forest department officials rushed to the spot and came to know that the Gaur had been shot dead by some miscreants. The bullets had pierced through its stomach and damaged its internal organs. The carcass was shifted from the sport with the help of tamed jumbos.

The postmortem of the animal was conducted by veterinarians and two bullets were found inside the body. The gaur was around six years of age. Forest officials have begun an investigation into the killing of the Gaur which is a scheduled wild animal. They are collecting details of licensed gun holders in surrounding areas to know whether it was the handiwork of local people or outsiders.

The officials suspect that the gaur might have been shot inside Nagarhole Tiger Reserve and the injured animal might have strayed out of the forests and died on the state highway. This incident has once again brought to light the movement of poachers inside the tiger reserve which is a big threat to wild animals.