Kerala - Kochi   

Deer to be released into the wild

The Sambar deer at the Animal Rescue Centre attached to the Kodanad Range of the Forest Department are impatiently waiting to burst into the world of freedom. A new world out in the wild awaits them just a fortnight away.

The ancestors of these deer came to the Centre some 20 years ago.

The senior officials at the office do not know how and when these deer reached the office. It must be during the days of some of their predecessors that the first batch of nearly six Sambar deer reached the Centre.

"It must be some two decades ago that the first batch of the deer came to the Centre. Now, the population is around 50, which is much beyond the capacity of the Centre," says Deepak Misra, Divisional Forest Officer of the Malayattoor division.

"They have bred fast in captivity. The Centre is not in a position to keep all the animals. We do not have any other option than releasing them," says Mr. Misra.

"The options before the wildlife managers in such situations are mercy killings and releasing them to the wild. In the Indian context, one cannot think of subjecting the animals to mercy death for controlling the population. Hence, we are planning to release them to the wild," says Mr. Misra.

The animals will be sedated before transporting them to the forest area. "Some causalities are likely to happen when the animals are transported. However, we are taking extreme care for the transportation and releasing of the animal," says Mr. Misra.

Though the animals that are born in captivity will be a bit weak when it comes to surviving in the wild, they will manage it somehow, Mr. Misra said.

The possible predators of the deer include wild dogs and tigers though the presence of leopards is yet to be confirmed, he says.

Once the rain that is lashing the district abates, the Forest officials are planning to release the deer to the wild at the forest area that comes under the jurisdiction of the Malayattoor range.

Like the Centre, the deer park attached to the Hill Palace Museum, Thripunithura, is also facing the problem of excess population of the spotted deer. Attempts to sterilise the deer had ended up in controversies as some of the animals died in the process.

K.S. Sudhi

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