The male leopard that strayed out of the Chengalpattu forest and killed four goats has grabbed much attention. But the large numbers of deer that stray out of the Guindy park and IIT-M campus continue to be silent victims of the speeding vehicles on Chennai’s roads.
Deer often get killed on the railway tracks or come under the wheels of vehicles on the city’s roads. “They are very friendly and never hurt anyone. They mostly move along the river bed. But when they get out of that course, they get hit by vehicles often,” says Murugan, a long-time Kotturpuram resident.
He says he had witnessed a couple of such accidents. In such cases, the forest officials bury the carcasses after digging a pit on the bank. For some residents in Kotturpuram, the deer have almost become friendly regular visitors. Then there are instances of street dogs attacking deer, killing some as well. Another big risk for the deer comes from their eating plastic waste from garbage bins.
Forest officials say the hotspot for deer accidents is the railway track near Saidapet, where they get killed trying to move to King’s institute, which has tree cover.