Kerala - Kochi   

From the zoo to the wild

TO BE FREE SOON: Sambars at the Animal Rescue Centre at Kodanad.

Finally, freedom is just a few days away for a few deer at the Animal Rescue Centre at Kodanad. From the crowded cages of the mini-zoo, they would soon be released to the forest area near Malayattoor.

The first batch of the deer would be released in the coming weeks and the preparation for the release, including de-worming the animals, has started, said E.K. Eswaran, veterinary surgeon of the Department of Forest.

Animals have been fed with a mineral and vitamin combination.

The area where the animals will be released has a natural population of deer, he said.

The zoo has been facing the problem of over-population of deer. The insufficient infrastructure facilities for their upkeep forced the zoo authorities to think in terms of releasing some of the animals to the wild.

The zoo houses nearly 100 spotted and Sambar deer. Earlier generations of the deer were brought to the zoo following some cases two decades ago. In the first batch, six deer were brought to the zoo.

The Animal Rescue Centre has become a transit point of animals that are either confiscated or taken into custody by the forest officials.

Parakeets that were unauthorisedly kept for selling in Kochi were also taken to the mini zoo last year and some of them were later released to the wild.

It was also the case for nearly 800 star turtles that some persons attempted to smuggle out of the country through Cochin International Airport, Nedumbassery. The zoo was the temporary home for a majority of them before being released at Chinnar forest. The zoo is still keeping a few star turtles with it.

K.S. Sudhi

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