KOCHI: While the death of 13 deer at the Deer Park on the Tripunithura Hill Palace premises has sparked a furore, the Forest Department is planning to translocate the 260-odd deer to the Malayattoor forest division 55 km away from the city. But senior officers with the Forest Department said translocation will be an arduous task."Deer is a sensitive animal and, when frightened, it responds in a strange way," said Conservator of Forests M S Jayaraman.
"It may not survive a shock. To translocate the deer, we have to dart them and transport them in a vehicle. We have to consult experts and draw a safe plan for translocation. The government has to take a decision in this regard." A committee of higher officers is deliberating on a plan to translocate the deer to a spacious and safe environment, said Idukki Wildlife Warden P U Saju.
"We can't release the animals into the wild as they have been raised in captivity. As we have been feeding them, the animals need time to get accustomed to the wild. They may not be able to escape from predators either," he said. Translocation, however, is set to pose a bigger challenge to the department as the deer have to be darted before being taken to another location.
"The availability of medicine is another challenge," said Saju."We may have to import it. The Forest Department will file a report in this regard and the government will have to make a decision. Until then, the Centre for Heritage Studies in Tripunithura will have to take care of the herd."
Weather conditions blamed for deer death
While the Animal Husbandry Department has confirmed the deer death at Tripunithura Hill Palace was due to a lung infection resulting from exposure to heavy downpour, Forest Department officers are of the opinion sudden change in weather conditions can cause infections in animals living in captivity. There is no veterinary doctor at the Hill Palace Deer Park as the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) had cancelled the approval given to the Centre for Heritage Studies (CHS) to keep the deer in captivity.
E1-crore hurdle for translocation
CZA had directed the Forest Department to translocate the deer and the department had demanded CHS pay J1.01 crore for translocation. As CHS did not have the required fund, the decision was delayed. The Deer Park was inaugurated by former Cultural Affairs Minister T M Jacob on October 31, 1992. While 18 deer were brought to Tripunithura, the herd grew rapidly over the years. Currently, there are around 260 deer in the two-acre park, making it difficult for the three caretakers to look after them. "The Hill Palace is a protected monument under the Department of Archaeology and we cannot build a permanent structure here to house the deer," said CHS registrar E Dinesh.
"The guidelines don't permit keeping animals in captivity on the premises of a protected monument. We don't know the circumstances under which the Deer Park was opened here." After we sought help to translocate the herd, the Forest Department demanded J1.01 crore for the translocation." He said CHS has sought government sanction to use an unutilised fund of J30 lakh for the purpose. "We are spending J30 lakh to buy feed for the animal every year, which is a huge financial burden on the department," he said.