Two persons died and 10 others were injured when two bisons strayed into villages near Jaldapara sanctuary in two separate incidents on Tuesday.

Chaya Adhikary and Haridashi Mondol, both in their late 60s, were killed by one of the bisons in the Ghokshadanga area.

The bison also injured a person, who has been admitted to a local sub-divisional hospital.

The second bison left seven persons injured of whom one is critical and has been admitted to the North Bengal Hospital. Six others, with minor injuries, have been treated at a local hospital.

After locals informed the state forest officials, Divisional Forest Officer (North Bengal) Kaushik Sarkar reached the spot with a team of wildlife officials.

While one of the bisons died after being shot with a tranquiliser, another was successfully pushed back to core forest area.

“When the tranquilised bison was lifted with a crane, the crane broke and hours later the bison died. We suspect it was a case of shock, but the body has been sent for a postmortem,” said S B Mondal, Chief Conservator of Wildlife, state Forest Department.

According to officials of the department, both the bisons had crossed the banks of River Torsha and entered into areas inhabited by the humans. The animals ransacked and even uprooted large number of banana trees.

An increase in the population of the bisons in North Bengal is being cited as one the major factors behind their frequent straying.

Estimates claim that in the past 20 years bison population has increased 12 times in the areas.