This story is from February 24, 2018

Save bison mission: Taken out of well, housed in zoo

Save bison mission: Taken out of well, housed in zoo
HYDERABAD: An Indian Bison, which fell into an agricultural well near a village in Warangal rural district, was rescued by forest officials on Friday and shifted to Nehru Zoological Park in the city. A crane was used to lift the animal up from the well. Locals spotted another gaur in the area too, but its location is yet to be traced.
Gaurs move in small herds in Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhoopalpally Jayashankar district.
On Wednesday, the sarpanch of Geesugonda village informed officials that two gaurs had strayedintothe village.
The gaurs may have come from Pasra, Laknavaram forest, and had entered the village via Nallabelly. The gaurs attacked a farmer at Namugonda village, injuring him. He was admitted to MGM hospital, Warangal.
The Forest Range Officer’s (FRO’s) strike force and FRO Warangal Rural teams have started search operations, but the gaurs could not be located until Thursday. Information was then received from Penchikalpet in Atmakur mandal, about a toddy tapper who had sustained a hand fracture when he was attacked by a gaur, and that while running away, the gaur slipped and fell into an open agricultural well.
A team from Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad also rushed to take part in the rescue operations. A crane was used to drop ropes into the well and the gaur was rescued on Friday morning. First aid was given to the bison and a lower jawbone fracture was suspected. The gaur is now reported to be fine at the Nehru Zoological Park where it was brought to.
Forest officials said generally wild animals stray from forest areas due to fights amongst males for leadership and also during mating chases. Sometimes, the search for food and water also leads them astray. An adult maleisdark black and a female is brown. They weigh about1tonne to1.5 tonnes.
The rescue operation was led by Purshotham, DFO Warangal Rural; assisted by Ramesh, FRO Warangal rural; Lakshmi Narayana FRO strike force; Punnamchander, FRO Zoo Warangal. Two rescue teams one led by Dr Hakim from Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, and D Praveen of Kakatiya Zoo, Warangal, also participated in the recus operation.
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About the Author
Ch Sushil Rao

Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.

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