CHENNAI: Chief Wildlife Warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj on Wednesday ordered a detailed investigation into rising deer deaths inside the Indian Institute of Madras (IIT). This comes in the aftermath of reports that 35 spotted deer between July-December 2021 and 6-7 dying in the last 45 days. Very recently, a fawn was killed by stray dogs.
Confirming the development, Chennai Wildlife Warden E Prashanth told TNIE the number of deer deaths being reported from IIT Madras is alarming and in most cases the cause of death couldn’t be ascertained since the carcass is found in a decomposed condition and postmortem cannot be conducted.
Prashanth said based on the interactions he had with IIT Madras officials and the official data available, the animal deaths are occurring primarily due to three reasons - dog bites, plastic ingestion and road kill.
Shruti Vinodh Raj, animal rights activist and member of the hospital committee, Tanuvas, said, “The very fact that so many animals are dying is proof enough IIT Madras failed to protect wildlife on the campus and more buildings are coming-up, shrinking the habitat further. Thirty five deer deaths in six months in 2021 and 6-7 deaths in 2022 is an alarming number.”
Meanwhile, IIT Madras officials say a plastic ban was imposed in 2018/19, but residents around the institute throw garbage including plastic into the campus. There is a fence across the campus wall to stop the deer from going to the garbage thrown by neighbours. “IIT Madras has taken rigorous steps to reduce plastic use and eliminate plastic waste on the campus,” an official said.