Kerala - Kozhikode   

Deer succumbs to injury

Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

Protected species: The injured spotted deer that was brought from Nilambur being examined at the District Veterinary Hospital in the city on Wednesday. –

Kozhikode: A spotted deer brought in a seriously injured condition to the District Veterinary Hospital died while doctors were trying to save its life by amputating its leg. The deer was brought to the hospital from Vazhikadavu in Nilambur Taluk by Malappuram forest officials.

P.R. Vinod Kumar, veterinary surgeon, who operated upon the deer, said that the tibia bone on its rear left leg was fractured at least five days ago.

“It was in a weak condition and its left leg was swollen with pus. Its only chance of survival was amputation,” Vinod Kumar said.

The 65-kg deer, around 1.5 years old, was found by local people who alerted forest officials.

The doctor said that the fracture must have occurred when the animal's leg got trapped between a rock crevice and it tried to violently extricate itself.

“That is what the injury to the tibia suggests. If it was a femoral fracture, we could have concluded that the injury happened on its landing, after it leapt into the air,” Dr. Vinod Kumar said.

The spotted deer is a protected animal listed under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

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