CHENNAI: With the population of spotted deer ballooning in unprotected urban spaces, the Forest Department has written to the State government seeking help to capture the free rangers. According to the latest census carried out by the department, there are about 280 spotted deer that have made green patches along the city roads their habitat and breeding place. The last time the Forest Department undertook a massive rescue operation was in 2014-15, when 320 animals were rescued and relocated. “We have written to the State government for necessary assistance. We have identified 12 spots in the city such as Saidapet, Velachery, Indiranagar and Gandhinagar, where the free-ranging deer population is observed. These animals are potentially facing threat from stray dogs, speeding vehicles and ingestion of plastic waste,” said K Geethanjali, Chennai Wildlife Warden.
To start with, the foresters with the help of volunteers have rescued 33 spotted deer in Taramani area alone in the past one week. On Monday, 12 deer were captured in a seven-hour operation, the biggest catch on a single day. Geethanjali said all 33 rescued animals are kept in the quarantine enclosure in the Children’s Park in the Guindy National Park for observation. The veterinary doctor from the Vandalur Zoo is checking the health of the animals to rule out the possibility of any of them carrying disease or infection. “After animals fully recover from stress and other minor injuries, they will be released into the Guindy National Park,” she said.
Forest ranger C Murugesan said the team has befriended the animals for 15 days, providing water and fodder daily. “To prevent the deer from jumping over to nearby by premises, we have fenced all exit points. Without tranquillising, we have succeeded in capturing the animals using only nets and fences. Daily, the team operates from 6 am to 10 am and 4 pm to 7 pm. The operation will continue for a few more days to capture the remaining animals. The entire exercise was carried out without causing any inconvenience to the general public,” he said.
The free-ranging herd in Taramani has become a headache for foresters as photos of deer ingesting plastic went viral in February. The herd has reportedly strayed out of the IIT Madras and for the past one year, it has made a green patch near the American International School at Taramani their home. But a real estate firm has cleared the greenery leaving the herd shelterless. The problem is that the area is surrounded by IT firms and the Old Mahabalipuram Road is nearby. This makes the area a crowded place with high traffic density. Besides, there is lot of plastic waste dumped in the vicinity and deer have been spotted consuming it.