COIMBATORE: Two Indian gaurs, which were struggling to walk after broken steel vessels got stuck in their hind limbs, were removed by the forest department in the Nilgiris on Friday.
The gaurs, a male and a female, were reeling under severe pain due to wounds caused by the broken vessel stuck in their limbs.
“Only a few such incidents come to our notice. There are chances for more animals to have been affected by such reckless discarding of unwanted materials by people,” said an official of the forest department.
Villagers spotted both the gaurs near human habitations; one near Kotagiri Town and another near S Kaikatty village on the way to Kodanad Estate.
For the male, aged around eight years and found near Kotagiri Town, the wound was simple, while the female had suffered a deep cut due to the stuck vessel. It was extremely weak and was unable to graze.
A team led by forest veterinarian K Rajesh Kumar removed the particles after administering tranquilliser to both the gaurs. Medicines were applied, and a bandage was wrapped around the wound. After treatment, the animals appeared relieved, and their health condition is likely to improve soon after their wounds heal completely.
Last month alone, two Indian gaurs found with PVC pipes ensnared around their limbs in Ketti in Kundah forest range and Kattabettu forest range in Kotagiri were rescued by the forest department.
An official claimed that they have attended to around ten such incidents of plastic or other discarded items getting stuck in the limbs of gaur in the past two years.
“As people dispose of waste in the open, the gaurs which frequent human habitations and farmlands suffer the brunt. Mostly, PVC pipes get stuck in the limbs of the gaur. In such cases, if left unattended, there are high chances for the animals to die by undergoing excruciating pain,” said N Sadiq Ali, founder of Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT).