Rescued sambar released into wild

Amritsar, December 5

After rescuing a sambar from residential area of Inder Nagar near Amritsar Mall, officials of the Forest Department released it into a nearby notified forest area on Sunday.

District Forest Officer Rajesh Kumar Gulati said the over three-year-old male, weighing over 100 kg, was found healthy in a medical check-up and was released in the forest area.

Protected animals, including sambar, deer and wild boars, are often sighted venturing into densely populated areas during winter.

Most of them are hunted for their meat and other body parts for medicinal purpose. Over the years, the population of protected animals, including sambar and wild boars, increased in the 13,898.53 hectare forest area of border districts of Amritsar and Tarn Taran.

Experts are of the view that shrinking wildlife habitat and expansion of human colonies force grazing animals to stray out of their original habitat in search for food.