#Nilgai, Who Opened Our Eyes While Closing His!!!

Abhishek Shrivastav

Recently we celebrated the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi who once said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” I do not know how much it holds true in this era.

On October 01, 2016, I went to play at the #AmitabhPark ground (Sector-15A, Noida) and saw an injured #Nilgai (Blue Bull). Due to a broken leg, the blue bull had been lying in a corner since September 30, 2016. We immediately took an action and tried connecting with the concerned departments with the help of contact numbers available on the Internet. We informed the police, various animal safety NGOs, Gau Raksha Vibhaag, SCPA and other departments, but of no use.

Then with someone’s help, we got in touch with SDM, DCO, DFO, Wildlife SOS & Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). This entire process started at 3 pm and we managed to get the help from 9 pm onwards.

Wildlife SOS first denied to rescue the animal in the evening, citing “there is no net”. After we pressurised them saying that we will call media and other people, they agreed to send the team, which reached the spot by 10:45 pm or so.

In the meantime, a team from the Department of Forest and Noida Bird Sanctuary arrived by 9 pm but they didn’t have any vehicle to pick the animal as their tractor, which they brought had gone back after dropping them (as expected by any govt department). So, we had to wait for the arrival of Wildlife SOS team.

Meanwhile, we contacted Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and they arrived with a doctor by 10 pm or so. It was figured that #Nilgai had two broken legs (one had a composite fracture and another had a normal fracture). At 10:30 pm or so, Wildlife SOS team arrived and the process to help the animal began.

WTI team, after reaching the spot, gave tranquilizer to the animal so that it becomes easy to lift; however, it didn’t happen. So, all the teams put that animal in the net and kept it in the van (the size of the car is again a questionable aspect depending upon the size of the animal) at around 12:30 am. After this, my friends (Amit Bhardwaj, Roshan RK, Vikas Jha, Mohit Kuldeep Sharma) and I left the park as we had a cricket match next day. At least we were relieved that the animal was in right hands and now it will be saved. Before the team left, I signed a form giving my details. Also, I mentioned my feedback.

On October 02, 2016 evening, I received a call from Wildlife SOS team that the animal is no more. It was shocking to know that the animal was no more.

However, our efforts and prayers failed to save the life of #Nilgai. Everything has a life span; however, we had never thought of this and expected him to get well soon.

Had we got the information about #Nilgai earlier, we would have taken an action accordingly. We wish the help from authorities would have come earlier (which was delayed by 6-7 hours), then also there was a probability to save the animal. After they picked the animal, I tweeted to Union Cabinet Minister Smt. Maneka Gandhi about the poor coordination among authorities, but did not receive any revert.

I was going through a couple of articles on Internet and shocked to see that #Nilgai & #WildBoar was declared as 'vermin'. The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi have raised a voice in this regard as well. What a shame that such important decisions are taken in this country in a haste.

I hope through this article, our voice reaches to the correct person and appropriate actions are taken. However, we should not lose hope and I request everyone that please do not ignore any help which you could provide to anybody (human or animal) so that their lives could be saved.

In the entire process, a couple of people helped us a lot, like Anuradha from SCPA (who kept sending me the numbers to connect with right people) and my friends and some others who continuously updated me after I posted the pic and details on my FB page. This proves that humanity is still alive.

If a handful of officials (those who are on the positions) are not acting responsibly, then we people have to act responsibly and make it happen. This incident is just a beginning, as we need to take a pledge to fulfill our duties towards the environment, animals and above all, whosoever is in need.

I request you to share it more and make it viral so that it reaches the authority and right people before it is too late.