A wild gaur that had strayed into densely populated areas, including Eranholi near Thalassery, was captured through chemical immobilisation by a Forest department expert team and later released into the forest area of the Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary.

The operation was carried out under the direction of Kannur Divisional Forest Officer S. Vysak and led by Kottur range officer Nithin Raj T. The gaur was transported in a special vehicle to the sanctuary and released after officials confirmed that its health condition was satisfactory.

Forest officials had been monitoring the animal’s movements for the past two days in the Koothuparamba and Panunda areas. The gaur was first spotted at Kadirur Panunda on May 7 and later strayed into a private property at Vadakumbad, Thottummal. Officials said the animal had wandered nearly 13.5 km away from forest areas into a densely populated region, making it impractical to drive it back naturally.

Following concerns raised by residents, the Forest department obtained special permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden to tranquilise and capture the animal.

The gaur was finally located behind the Thalassery Institute of Advanced Studies at Eranholi on Friday morning (May 8), following which the capture operation was launched. A three-member veterinary team led by Ilyas Rawuthar administered the tranquiliser.

Officials, including Kannur Rapid Response Team deputy range officer Shiny Kumar, section forest officer Pramod Kumar, C.K. Mahesh, and Sunil Kumar, along with forest staff and snake rescue volunteer Bijilesh, took part in the mission. Personnel from the Thalassery Town police station and residents also assisted in the operation.