KALPETTA: Forest department officials released Chakkara, the three-month-old male spotted deer, into the Irulam forest on Sunday and Rameshan, who had rescued and nursed it for two months, is heartbroken.
“I wish Chakkara stayed with us for some more time... at least till he stopped drinking milk,” said the 26-year-old resident of Kattunayaka tribal colony at Madoor in Meenangadi, Wayanad.
“The forest officers arrived suddenly. We were not mentally prepared to hand him over. Chakkara was cute, and had become a member of our family,” added Rameshan, who lives at a settlement on forest land.
The daily-wage labourer had first spotted the injured fawn on the way to a plantation near his house in February. He again saw the little one while returning after the work, and decided to take him home.
“My intention was to release him into the forest once he regained health. But the fawn soon got accustomed to us all well and we formed an emotional bond. We named him Chakkara, and my two little kids used to be with him round the clock,” said Rameshan, who gave the fawn bottled milk twice a day, besides a regular supply of rice water.
He used to take Chakkara for grazing, too, and stood guard against canine attacks. “Chakkara was too frail to be left alone,” he added. Meanwhile, news about a man rearing a wild animal went viral, and forest officials arrived at his place on April 2. Veterinary examination convinced the officials that the fawn would have died if not for Rameshan’s mercy.
But rules are rules. “Rameshan saved the fawn’s life. However, as per law, a wild animal cannot be reared as a domestic one,” said KV Anandan, deputy range forest officer, Chethalayam. “He belongs to the forest. So, we released him into the forest on Sunday, after getting a vet’s certificate and 24-hour observation. Chakkara is healthy and eating grass," he added.