Timely rescue of Indian gaur entangled in PVC pipe at Ooty

The forest department prevented what could have possibly led to the death of an Indian gaur in the Nilgiris forest division through swift action on Sunday (June 29, 2025).

Local residents in the areas surrounding the Kattabettu forest range near Kotagiri had noticed a five-year-old gaur with a wound caused by a piece of PVC pipe that had gotten ensnared around its legThey notified members of local NGOs, who in turn alerted the Divisional Forest Officer (Nilgiris division), S. Gowtham.

Acting on the information, Mr. Gowtham dispatched a team of forest department staff including forest rangers and veterinarians to the spot on Sunday to treat the animal. Forest department officials stated that the animal was tracked to a location near a residential area in Kattabettu range. Veterinary Assistant Surgeon (Theppakadu Elephant Camp), Rajesh Kumar, was called in to tranquilize the animal and treat its wounds, they said.

The animal was tranquilized and the piece of PVC pipe was removed by the team of forest department staff, who ensured that the animal recovered before watching it reunite with its herd nearby, officials stated.

Over the last few years, a number of Indian gaurs have become injured due to their foot getting stuck in PVC pipes from construction sites and farm lands, said local conservationists, urging residents to never discard waste from construction sites in open areas.

N. Sadiq Ali, founder of the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT), commended them for their swift response to the situation. “If the intervention had not been undertaken so quickly, the chances of the wound becoming severely infected and the animal dying increase exponentially,” said Mr. Sadiq, who was among those who had alerted the forest department.