Hyderabad: A rabid cow gored a 65-year-old man to death and injured the deputy director of the Nehru Zoological Park and several others in Pahadishareef on Thursday. It took a lot of men, a team from the Pahadishareef police, 24 staffers of the CRPF, and Jalpally municipality officials to eventually immobilise and capture the animal.
The deceased, Khaja, 65, a local resident, was attacked by the cow that was running amok on the road before it ran away into a nearby bushy area. It later slammed into Dr M.A. Hakeem, the zoo deputy director, and ran over him, leaving him unconscious for a few minutes from the impact of the fall.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Hakeem said the zoo received a call regarding the cow at about 1 pm, following which an eight-member team left for Sultanpur road, where the cow was reported to be.
“By the time we arrived, the cow had killed a man and injured half-a-dozen others. It took us an hour to search for the animal and the teams took position to administer the tranquiliser dart. I was standing with other officials facing the animal at a distance. Once the tranquiliser hit it, the cow ran in our direction. Before anyone could react, it dashed into me,” Dr Hakeem told this correspondent.
He was knocked out for a few minutes and his colleagues took him to a hospital where he was examined and found to be suffering from minor bruises. “I have tracked and tranquilised leopards, bears and other animals but never was attacked. But a cow got me,” Dr Hakeem said.
After the dart hit the cow, it went down in about 30 minutes after which it was trussed up and sent to the GHMC animal shelter at Jiyaguda.
“It was a risky operation because the cow was running helter skelter. We learnt that the cow was bitten by a rabid dog and we suspect it is suffering from the disease that could explain the way it was acting,” he said.
