Darted, berserk bison die

TT, Jalpaiguri, Feb. 12: Two bison which had strayed out of Gorumara National park this morning went on a rampage at Ramsai in Mainaguri block for around five hours, injuring two persons, including a beat officer of the state forest department.

Both the gaur (Indian bison) were darted and they died later.

Another gaur also entered Ramsi from Gorumara in the afternoon and attacked Anil Roy, a farmer who was tending his cattle. He has been admitted to the district hospital. The third gaur is suspected to have returned to the forest or strayed into tea plantations in the adjoining areas.

The two bison that had been first spotted at Ramsi today damaged a car parked in the compound of a house and gored villager Bablu Roy. Hundreds of people had gathered in the area to get a glimpse of the two bison.

Foresters from Gorumara Wildlife Division rushed to the spot. "As more and more people gathered, the gaur became more excited and started running helter-skelter. When we tried to intercept the animals, one of them attacked beat officer Prabir Sarkar. He was admitted to Jalpaiguri district hospital," a forester said.

The rampage went on for around five hours, after which the foresters darted the animals and they soon died. "When the bison are darted, there is always a high risk of mortality because of sudden heart collapse. We can confirm the causes of deaths only after post-mortems are conducted," the forester said.

Ramsai is 20km from here