A gaur (Indian bison) was spotted near Darawali village in Pune district of Maharashtra on early Tuesday morning, a forest department official said.
According to the official, residents of Darawali spotted the wild animal near their village and informed the forest department.
The village under Mulshi tehsil is located around 25km from Punecity.
A crowd gathered to see the wild cattle which later went back to its habitat, he said.
A team of forest department personnel rushed to the spot along with members of a city-based NGO.
Dipak Pawar, Range Forest Officer, said, “The animal strayed near the village from a bordering forest area. Some villagers spotted it and the news about the gaur spread like wildfire.”
“Many villagers started gathering to see the animal.
Our team rushed to the spot and controlled the crowd. The gaur later made its way to its habitat in the forest,” he said.
In December last year, a bison had strayed into a residential society located in the plush Kothrud area of Pune city and later died due to exhaustion.
Another gaur was spotted later in the same month near the Bavdhan area.