Amid growing wild gaur tension in the Malnad region, the demand for separate rescue teams is gaining momentum. Experts opine that the Channarayapatna incident on Saturday, where a 4- to 5-year-old gaur died after the rescue operation, was due to sheer negligence and illogical handling. The incident sparked a fresh debate over the capture of bovine wild animals, which often ends in death due to cardiac arrest caused by anxiety and stress, a complication scientifically known as capture myopathy. Speaking to TOI, Hassan DCF Sourabh Kumar said that in the Channarayapatna incident, a male Indian gaur, approximately 4-5 years old, entered Channarayapatna city. It attacked a 60-year-old lady named Sushelamma in the early morning hours. The injured lady was shifted to HIMS hospital, Hassan, by forest department staff and, after stabilization, was shifted to Victoria Hospital, Bangalore, for better treatment and care, as advised by the doctor. She underwent surgery on October 12, 2025, and her condition is relatively stable now. The IFS officer further explained that immediately after receiving the intimation of the Indian gaur entering the city on October 11, 2025, morning, forest department staff quickly rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area as an immediate preventive measure. The matter was briefed to higher officials, including PCCF (WL) & CWLW. Considering the circumstances of no possible suitable habitat to drive the gaur, no history of gaur presence in the Channarayapatna landscape, and to prevent any untoward eventualities in the densely populated area, a decision was taken to rescue the gaur by chemical immobilization, as per the directions of higher officials. Accordingly, a team of veterinary doctors from Mysore circle and Bandipura Tiger Reserve was constituted. A drone squad was deployed to monitor the movement in the densely populated area with a large number of buildings and an unruly crowd trying to follow the gaur for photos. After the arrival of the vet doctors, a briefing was done, as it was a risky operation in a densely populated human settlement area. Since the animal started moving towards a more densely populated area, darting was done immediately to avoid further issues in the rescue/approach towards the crowd. The sedated gaur was placed into a vehicle and revived. After revival, the animal negotiated the barriers and escaped from the vehicle. Immediate attempts were made again to manage the crowd, as the general public kept shouting and leaning on railings to take photos of the animal. The gaur was immediately cordoned off with the help of departmental vehicles, cranes, lorries, etc. Afterwards, standing sedation was done, and the animal was loaded into the truck, followed by revival, and moved out of the residential area immediately for the safety of the animal and the crowd. PCCF (WL) was briefed about the developments, and the vehicle with the animal was moved out of Channarayapatna for release. One hour into the move, the accompanying staff observed no movement, and an examination was done by the accompanying vets from Bandipura and Mysore circle, who declared the animal dead. Since department veterinary doctors from Bandipur and Mysuru were involved in the rescue operation on the same day, permission was taken from PCCF (WL) to engage a panel of veterinary doctors from Veterinary College, Hassan, in the presence of an NGO representative, to conduct a post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death in a transparent manner and without any prejudice/biasness. Samples were collected for further investigation. Pathologists explained the presence of epicardial and endocardial hemorrhagic along with hemorrhagic lesions on vital organs due to severe stress and exertion resulting in massive cardiac arrest. Prima facie, it is opined by the Post-Mortem Panel that the cause of death is found to be massive cardiac arrest. The final Post-Mortem report will be submitted after obtaining the necessary forensic and investigation reports. After the post-mortem examination, the body of the animal was buried as per SOP. The mystery surrounding the presence of the gaur in the Channarayapatna area, where not a single large forest patch accommodates gaurs, remains unsolved. Officials say the gaur probably came from the Chikkamagaluru side, a distance of over 100 kilometers. Many officials opined that gaur rescue and translocation are not as easy as rescuing other wild animals and that the survival rate is low. However, there is a good example from Shivamogga Zoo, where staff, under the leadership of the zoo’s Executive Director, VM Amarakshar, successfully transported two pairs of gaurs from Shivamogga Zoo to Indore Zoo in Madhya Pradesh under an animal exchange program. Amarakshar shared his method of lifting sensitive animals with Rainland. “It should be handled in a soft manner, and we adopt the Madhya Pradesh model. I underwent training earlier there. We should have a special stretcher. While administering Xylazine and ketamine (anesthetic drug), we must ensure the gaur would be sternal recumbent rather than lateral after sedation. If it lies down, the complications are more. We should have more vet doctors in the wild. We have a one-month training program for our zoo staff in the zoo. Because we need to carry it out with special care, blindfolding the animal. We have our own method, fabricated by the best doctor, Murali Manohar,” the officer stated. According to sources, hundreds of gaurs concentrated on the Chikkamagaluru and Hassan border will be problematic. Earlier this year, Kalasa Taluk farmers protested, forcing Forest Department Chief Conservator Yashpal Kshirsagar to visit Madhya Pradesh’s Kanha Tiger Reserve, where India’s best gaur translocation team is active. However, the implementation of the study has been delayed. When contacted, IFS officer Yashpal Kshirsagar said he had discussed the issue with senior officials recently, and a separate SOP and teams for gaur translocation will be formed. Due to the delay in forming special operation teams for gaur, conflicts are arising in Malnad, Chirag from Rainland Trust informed.
