An Indian bison that had strayed into the open area of a housing complex in Pune, died hours after being rescued in a three-hour-long operation.
The Indian bison or gaur is native to South and South-East Asia and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986
The bison – possibly from the Mulshi forest area - strayed into the Mahatma Society at Kothrud in Pune.
The bison was apparently hurt by a group of stray dogs and took refuge into the housing compound’s garden.
The residents immediately alerted the Pune police and Maharashtra forest department.
The MFD teams arrived with nets and tranquilisers to control, capture and secure the huge horned animal. The gaur made an attempt to escape during which he got injured.
Image of rescue operation showed that the animal was bleeding.
The team finally managed to tranquilise and net it and hoisted it onto a vehicle to take it for a medical examination. However, before it could be released in the wild, it died because of a heart attack as a result of exhaustion and increased blood pressure.