Indian Gaur on the rampage in Karkala village; nabbed

Shyam Sundar Vattam |NT

Deer, Deer! An Indian Gaur entered a human habitat at Mulyakkaru Jaddu in Neere village of Karkala taluk in Udupi district on Tuesday.

According to information reaching here, ‘the guest from the wild’ reached the house of Leelathi Poojarthi at Mulyakkaru village situated adjacent to Neere Bypur Reserve Forests around 1:30 pm. Several portion of the house have been damaged due to the movement of the big built Gaur.

Shocked to see the Gaur in their compound, family members raised an alarm and seeing their plight, neighbours informed the gram panchayat about the Gaur. The Panchayat Development Officer, chairman, members and others reached the spot for an inspection and intimated forest department officers.

Later, a team of forest staff led by Range Forest Officer Dinesh from Karkala Forest Division and Range Forest Oficer Smitha from Karkala Wildlife Division came to the spot. An experienced veterinarian was summoned and an earth moving vehicle, tipper and tractor too were brought to the spot. The operation which started around 11 am, went on till 5 pm.

The veterinarian tranquilized the Gaur and the staff loaded it into the tipper with the help of earth moving equipment and shifted it to Kudremukh Wildlife sanctuary. The Gaur is around 8 years old and is well-built.

Villagers have been telling forest officers about a Gaur moving on the fringes of the village for the last one month.