Chital stag captured outside Kancha Gachibowli, taken to zoo
Another chital, also a large stag, died after it was attacked by stray dogs on the UoH campus
HYDERABAD: A chital stag, part of the herd of deer from the Kancha Gachibowli area, was rescued by forest department officials on Friday after it strayed into a residential colony in Osmannagar, not very far from the parcel of land that is in the news.
Meanwhile, another chital, also a large stag, died after it was attacked by stray dogs on the UoH campus.
The spotted deer male was tranquilised and captured from a house in Osmannagar by a veterinary team from the Nehru Zoological Park. While officials from the forest department said once the animal recovered and was found fit for release, it will be taken back to the UoH campus and freed there.
It was learnt that the chital stag had several wounds, including cuts on its body, and a particularly bad one on one of its legs. The animal was described to be in a state of severe shock, but was being treated for its wounds.
“We are hoping that it will recover,” a forest department official said, but added that it was not uncommon for spotted deer to succumb to shock after their capture, especially if they have also suffered some injuries.
A huge crowd had gathered near the house where the deer was, and it appeared that most of its injuries resulted from it trying to find an escape route, the official added.
Meanwhile, another large stag was found with bleeding wounds from attacks by stray dogs on the UoH campus on Friday, and through university security guards and others tried to get it to a veterinary clinic in Nanakramguda, it died, also apparently from shock and the wounds.
Asked if the deer, that was taken to the zoo, was from the Kancha Gachibowli land, a senior wildlife official said the deer was from the university campus. The now in dispute Kancha Gachibowli land parcel lies between the campus and Osmannagar.
The official also said the forest department had been called several times in the past to the university when deer were found injured or dead. Several meetings were also held with the university officials in the past and a conservation plan was suggested to them, the official added.
These plans included plugging the gaps in the university compound wall, and to fence off a 100 acre plot into which all the deer could be driven into and kept safe from stray dogs. The official also said “occasionally a deer or a peacock or a peahen ventures out to the water body adjacent to the land allotted to TGIIC. If the broken wall of the campus boundary is plugged, wildlife in the campus would be more secure.”