BALANGIR: As many as nine spotted deer have died due to a suspected infection at Harishankar Deer Park in the last four days. While six deer died on August 1, three more succumbed in the next couple of days.
A team comprising Dr Mihir Kumar Naik and Dr Mrutyunjaya Behera of Animal Disease Research Institute at Cuttack along with Balangir additional district veterinary officer Dr Gyana Ranjan Behera and Khaprakhol additional veterinary assistant surgeon Dr Sujit Satpathy visited the park and collected samples for testing to ascertain the cause behind the deer’s death.
The team held discussions with other officials and went through the reports of the postmortem conducted on the animals’ carcasses. Sources said a sudden drop in temperature and infighting among the animals may have caused the deaths. The remaining deer at the park which are not keeping well are responding to veterinarians’ treatment.
Balangir DFO Nitish Kumar who visited the park recently with veterinary doctors instructed the officials concerned to keep at least three deer in isolation. He assured to take steps to address the problem of shortage of space at the park. Kumar said the exact cause of the deers’ death can be ascertained after the test reports are received. The reports are expected by Aug 9.