6 blackbucks die within week at deer park
Aman Sood
Patiala, March 30
Six blackbucks — who happen to be the state animal of Punjab — have died under mysterious circumstances within the past four days in the Bir Moti Bagh Mini Zoo (Deer Park) in Patiala enclosure, managed by state Wildlife Department.
No mischief
Since the deer park is enclosed and wildlife officials are camping there round the clock, there doesn’t seem to be any mischief. We are awaiting the post-mortem examination reports to reach a conclusion. Senior Official
While initially, the matter was kept under wraps, a team of experts is now monitoring all other antelopes and the “post-mortem examination of the dead animals has been concluded”.
Sources inside the department confirmed to The Tribune that earlier this week, two blackbucks were found dead. The count has now reached six. “Despite the deer being captive wild animals in Deer Park Patiala, the matter was taken lightly the first day and instead of segregation of other blackbucks in the same enclosure, the lower rung officials failed to take any immediate action, resulting in more deaths,” they claimed.
But field officials claim that “since the animals showed no initial symptoms and were found dead”, it took time to understand the gravity of the situation.
Blackbucks are an endangered species protected under the Wildlife Act and the punishment for killing the animal is imprisonment up to six years. Blackbuck is the state animal of Punjab and is covered under Schedule 1 of the (Protection) Act, 1972.
The department officials are now trying to ascertain the reasons for the deaths of the animals which were all kept in a single-fenced enclosure, though they have ruled out any foul play. “Since the deer park is enclosed and wildlife officials are camping there round the clock, there doesn’t seem to be any mischief. We are awaiting the post-mortem examination reports,” said a senior official.
“Divisional Forest Office Patiala is taking all necessary precautions to deal with the situation. They have collected samples and sent those for histo-pathological analysis as per the protocol. As soon as the reports come, they would proceed accordingly. For now, they are following all necessary Standard Operating Procedures required under the situation,” said Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden Dharminder Sharma.
Talking to The Tribune, Divisional Forest Officer Patiala (Wildlife) Neeraj Gupta confirmed that six deaths of blackbucks (Antelope cervicapra) till now have occurred in the past four days in one enclosure. “As per prevalent rules and regulations, we get conducted post-mortem examination of dead animals by local veterinarian and GADVASU officials and also physical examination by departmental veterinary officials from Chhatbir Zoo.
“It is suspected to be case of either bacterial infection or foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Samples have been taken by experts and medication has started. All standard protocols are in place and the Deer Park has been closed till further orders. Apparently, all animals seem to be healthy as no animal is lethargic after medication and they are being monitored,” said Gupta.
The deer park has many wild animals from different species of antelopes, fox, exotic birds, monkeys, langurs and many others kept in enclosures.
