A full-grown male rhinoceros strayed into Pundibari in Cooch Behar district early on Friday, injuring two people and triggering panic among residents before it was tranquilised by forest department officers.

Officers of the Cooch Behar forest division said the rhino was believed to have wandered out of the Jaldapara National Park, about 20km away, possibly because of disorientation caused by recent floods.

According to forest department sources, the rhino was first spotted around 5.30am near Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya at Pundibari in the Mathabhanga 2 block.

The foresters located the animal as it moved through nearby Ghoksadanga, but before they could intercept it, the rhino entered the Pundibari market area.

“The rhino was seen wandering on the streets. We had never witnessed anything like this here,” said a resident.

As residents fled to safety, an 85-year-old woman, Bibha Kar, was unable to escape and was injured after being attacked by the animal.

Dilip Das, 65, also suffered injuries during the incident. Both were later hospitalised, officials said.

Pundibari, about 15km from Cooch Behar town, soon witnessed a large-scale rescue response. Police from Pundibari station and over 125 forest guards, along with five teams from the Jaldapara National Park and the Cooch Behar forest division, and two teams from Buxa Tiger Reserve, reached the area by 6am.

“The area was cordoned off and residents were evacuated through a public address system to ensure safety,” a senior forester said.

After several hours, the animal took refuge in a waterbody. Around 2pm, an expert team from Jaldapara successfully tranquilised the rhino, bringing the tense standoff to an end.

A crane was brought in to transport the darted animal onto a truck that ferried the rhino to the forest.

“After it was rescued, the animal was released safely into the core area of the Chilapata forest,” said Asitab Chatterjee, the divisional forest officer (Cooch Behar).

The rhino is believed to be 14 years old.

After the release, seven kunkis (trained elephants) were used to guide the rhino deep into the forest and prevent man-animal conflict.

Parveen Kaswan, the divisional forest officer of the Jaldapara wildlife division, said the rescue operation stood as a remarkable example of teamwork, professionalism and compassion in wildlife management.

“We tranquilised the animal safely and released the same in the Chilapata forest successfully. The rhino is in healthy condition,” the DFO of Jaldapara said.

In the past two days, two people were also killed in the district during attacks by wild boars which were also affected by the floods.