Bullseye
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Meat-loving cow found gobbling up chickens
Thursday, March 8, 2007. 8:18am (AEDT)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1865991.htm
An Indian man has eventually solved the puzzle of his missing chickens after catching his sacred cow gobbling up several the birds in the coop at night.
When dozens of chickens went missing from a remote West Bengal village, everyone blamed the neighbourhood dogs.
Ajit Ghosh, the owner of the missing chickens, decided to stand guard at night at the cow shed that also served as a hen coop after 48 chickens went missing in a month.
"We were shocked to see our calf eating chickens alive," Ajit Ghosh told Reuters from Chandpur village, about 240 kilometres north-west of capital Kolkata.
His brother, Gour Ghosh says the cow named Lal - a sacred animal for the Hindu family - was gobbling up several chickens each night.
"Instead of the dogs, we watched in horror as the calf, whom we had fondly named Lal, sneak to the coop and grab the little ones with the precision of a jungle cat," brother Gour Ghosh said.
Local television pictures showed the cow grabbing and eating a chicken in seconds and a vet confirmed the case.
"We think lack of vital minerals in the body is causing this behaviour. We have taken a look and have asked doctors to look into the case immediately," Mihir Satpathy, a district veterinary officer, said by phone.
"This strange behaviour is possible in some exceptional cases," Mr Satpathy said.
Hundreds of villagers flocked to Chandpur on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Lal, enjoying his bundle of green grass for a change.
"The local vets said the cow was probably suffering from a disease but others said Lal was a tiger in his previous birth," Dr Ajit said.
- Reuters
Thursday, March 8, 2007. 8:18am (AEDT)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1865991.htm
An Indian man has eventually solved the puzzle of his missing chickens after catching his sacred cow gobbling up several the birds in the coop at night.
When dozens of chickens went missing from a remote West Bengal village, everyone blamed the neighbourhood dogs.
Ajit Ghosh, the owner of the missing chickens, decided to stand guard at night at the cow shed that also served as a hen coop after 48 chickens went missing in a month.
"We were shocked to see our calf eating chickens alive," Ajit Ghosh told Reuters from Chandpur village, about 240 kilometres north-west of capital Kolkata.
His brother, Gour Ghosh says the cow named Lal - a sacred animal for the Hindu family - was gobbling up several chickens each night.
"Instead of the dogs, we watched in horror as the calf, whom we had fondly named Lal, sneak to the coop and grab the little ones with the precision of a jungle cat," brother Gour Ghosh said.
Local television pictures showed the cow grabbing and eating a chicken in seconds and a vet confirmed the case.
"We think lack of vital minerals in the body is causing this behaviour. We have taken a look and have asked doctors to look into the case immediately," Mihir Satpathy, a district veterinary officer, said by phone.
"This strange behaviour is possible in some exceptional cases," Mr Satpathy said.
Hundreds of villagers flocked to Chandpur on Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Lal, enjoying his bundle of green grass for a change.
"The local vets said the cow was probably suffering from a disease but others said Lal was a tiger in his previous birth," Dr Ajit said.
- Reuters
