Wild gaur on the loose travels around 10 km, darted at Pirappancode in TVM

Thiruvananthapuram: A wild gaur that spread panic in Andoorkonam and Pothencode panchayats after roaming around the residential areas was darted near Pirappancode on Thursday. The gaur travelled around 10 kms from Pothencode to Pirappancode and it was spotted at the junction near the school. The rapid response team which tracked the gaur darted the animal near a temple.

The gaur still moved on and entered a rubber plantation and also tried to scale the compound wall of the plantation. Traffic along the MC road - from Venjaramoodu to Vembayam was halted after the gaur was found at the junction. The team is waiting for the gaur to be immobilized after which it will be shifted. Police also reached the spot and regulated traffic.

Although the team spotted the gaur twice on Wednesday, they couldn't take the shot since the gaur was found to be stressed and the team didn't want to alarm the animal. Often, under extreme stress, animals develop a fatal condition called capture myopathy which occurs due to over-exertion. The RRT avoided taking a shot at the animal to avert this condition. The team waited for a perfect shot to immobilize the animal, however, it remained elusive for the rest of the day.