Wild gaur menace on increase on Kundah slopes

Ooty: Straying of wild gaurs into the fields on the Kundah slopes is showing a steady rise now. Hill district farmers want action to check this menace.

While the Kundah slopes near here is known for the wild gaur menace and related man-animal conflict over the years, in recent weeks herds of gaurs consisting of more than a dozen individual animals in each herd, pose veiled threats to farmers and residents.

The gaur menace is particularly high on the Mynalaimattam, Chamraj and Maryland slopes along the Ooty-Manjoor road.  The straying gaurs stay inside the tea gardens for hours together to graze the undergrowth in the tea gardens.  

Pradeep, a resident in the Kundah slopes, said that in recent times there were quite a few young ones in the herd, suggesting that the gaur population in Kundah slopes has increased. He wanted foresters to evolve the right strategies to keep the gaur menace at bay.