MYSORE: Incessant rain over the last few days in Mysore left the Mysore zoo flooded. Water gushed in from the Karanji Lake to the zoo and though a 16-year-old nilgai died on Thursday night, authorities claimed that the animal died of enteritis and old age.
A canal, located adjacent to Karanji Lake, overflowed, resulting in water entering the zoo, flooding the nilgai block on Thursday. Denying that the nilgai died due to rain, Dr Suresh Kumar, the zoo veterinarian, said the animal, which was 16 years old, had completed its life span and had enteritis.
The flood waters brought misery to other helpless animals too. A hyena suffered the whole night in water and was seen struggling in its enclosure before being rescued.
A crocodile was caught near Siddharthanagar in the city. Authorities said it either came from the Karanji Lake or a drain and said no crocodiles from the zoo had escaped. Meanwhile, a task force has been constituted to care for the animals. Nanjundaswamy, chairman, Karnataka Zoo Authority said blockages in the canal passing through the zoo were cleared.