15 deer were killed after they were attacked by a pack of stray dogs inside an enclosure at an animal rescue center in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district, officials said on Sunday.
In connection with the incident that took place at Sanjay Van Vatika in Ambikapur on Friday-Saturday night, the forest department has suspended four employees including a deputy ranger and three forest guards for alleged negligence.
Sanjay Van Vatika runs the forest department and the facility, which functions much like a zoo, is also open to visitors.
A pack of four to five stray dogs entered the park from the adjoining forest and breached the deer enclosure, Surguja Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Abhishek Jogawat said.
14 deer including a spotted deer, a barking deer and a four-horned antelope died in the attack on Saturday, one severely injured animal succumbed to its injuries on Sunday. Death was caused by a dog bite, he confirmed.
The official said the dead bodies were disposed of by burning as per prescribed procedures after the post-mortems were conducted.
He added that the Chief Conservator of Forests for Surguja Circle, Dilraj Prabhakar, has suspended deputy ranger Ashok Sinha, who was also supervising the park, along with forest guards Mamta Porte, Pratima Lakra and Bindu Singh for alleged negligence.
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Forest ranger Ambikapur Akshapalak Rishi has also been served notice and directed to submit a reply within five days or further action will be taken.
“An investigation team headed by sub-divisional officer (Forest), Ambikapur, has been constituted to probe the incident. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty,” Jogawat said.
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Nilgai, the jackal died in Delhi zoo
In other news, officials said a male nilgai and a jackal died within three days of each other at the National Zoological Park here.
The deaths, which occurred on March 10 and March 12, follow similar incidents in recent months that have raised concerns about animal health and monitoring systems.
According to the official, a nilgai was found dead in Beat No. 1 of the zoo, while a jackal was found dead in Beat No. 10.
Zoo director Sanjeet Kumar said both the animals died of old age. He added that they were under observation and that the initial findings pointed to age-related complications.
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These deaths came within three months of other animal deaths at the zoo, including a female antelope, another jackal and a Sangai deer.
Earlier this month, a male Sangai deer — a Schedule I species protected under the Wildlife (Conservation) Act, 1972 — also died at the zoo. The official said the deer had a plaster cast on its hind limb and required constant monitoring and veterinary care. He added that the zoo also recorded the death of a female antelope at the beginning of this year.
