MANGALURU: A stray Indian Gaur and a leopard kept scientific officers of Pilikula Biological Park at Moodushedde near Mangaluru literally on their toes on Tuesday. While the Guar, usually found on the fringes of the city, strayed in to Mannagudda, a predominant residential hub, the leopard that was spotted roaming around MRPL premises at Kuthethur, was found caught in a snare the locals had laid for wild boars that abound in the region.
It was the sturdy Gaur, which district forest officer V Karikalan said was an adult, that cantered across majestically in the heart of the city, that literally created a flutter. Spotted first in thick green surroundings behind Vishal Nursing Home at Alake around 6.30am, the Gaur criss-crossed this residential and commercial hub before the officers from the Park tranquilised it around 11am in a narrow alley off the Mannagudda second crossroad.
Karikalan told TOI that the Gaur could have inadvertently strayed into the residential part of the city either from Bajpe or from Badagayekkar on the city outskirts, where they are usually found. The Gaur that the scientific officers from the Park tranquilised with help from range forest officer P Shreedhar and his staff, was later released in Charmadi Reserve Forest area in Belthangady taluk at the foothills of the Western Ghats, the DFO said.
Videos and pictures of the Gaur having a free run in the city did rounds on social media. H Jayaprakash Bhandary, director, Pilikula Biological Park surmised that the Gaur could have been part of a group that split up when dogs sensing their presence started barking. Karikalan said department staff is verifying reports of Gaurs being sighted in a pair. “Our immediate priority was to capture this lone Gaur and take it away from human habitation,” he said.
In a related development, the forest department also availed services of the scientific officers to tranquilise a leopard that was caught in the snare at Kuthethur. “We had laid a cage trap for the leopard in the area after receiving reports of its sighting in the area in the last couple of days,” Karikalan said. The tranquilised leopard is healthy and the big cat too like the Gaur has been released in a different part of Charmadi reserve forest area, he said.
It was the sturdy Gaur, which district forest officer V Karikalan said was an adult, that cantered across majestically in the heart of the city, that literally created a flutter. Spotted first in thick green surroundings behind Vishal Nursing Home at Alake around 6.30am, the Gaur criss-crossed this residential and commercial hub before the officers from the Park tranquilised it around 11am in a narrow alley off the Mannagudda second crossroad.
Karikalan told TOI that the Gaur could have inadvertently strayed into the residential part of the city either from Bajpe or from Badagayekkar on the city outskirts, where they are usually found. The Gaur that the scientific officers from the Park tranquilised with help from range forest officer P Shreedhar and his staff, was later released in Charmadi Reserve Forest area in Belthangady taluk at the foothills of the Western Ghats, the DFO said.
Videos and pictures of the Gaur having a free run in the city did rounds on social media. H Jayaprakash Bhandary, director, Pilikula Biological Park surmised that the Gaur could have been part of a group that split up when dogs sensing their presence started barking. Karikalan said department staff is verifying reports of Gaurs being sighted in a pair. “Our immediate priority was to capture this lone Gaur and take it away from human habitation,” he said.
In a related development, the forest department also availed services of the scientific officers to tranquilise a leopard that was caught in the snare at Kuthethur. “We had laid a cage trap for the leopard in the area after receiving reports of its sighting in the area in the last couple of days,” Karikalan said. The tranquilised leopard is healthy and the big cat too like the Gaur has been released in a different part of Charmadi reserve forest area, he said.
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