A female thamin — an endangered brow-antlered deer found in the low-lying marshy areas of Southeast Asia — died at Delhi Zoo, while a blackbuck delivered a stillborn. The zoo authorities earlier said a chinkara and a blackbuck died at the zoological park, but later they clarified that it was a female thamin which died after sustaining injuries during a fight, while the blackbuck didn’t die but delivered a stillborn. “The female thamin died due to injuries sustained in a fight, while the blackbuck gave birth to an underdeveloped fetus. The joint director (of the zoological park) has been asked to submit a report on the matter,” Sanjeet Kumar, director of Delhi Zoo, said. The autopsy report of the thamin is awaited, officials said.
The latest deaths follow two age-related fatalities in Delhi Zoo in February, which included a jaguar and a nilgai.
In the past few months, Delhi zoo has seen the deaths of some animals, including a leopard, jaguar, baboon, sangai, nilgai , white tiger cub and a rhino. Zoo officials said the leopard and the nilgai died due to old age complications.
A nine-year-old female dhole, Macchali, died at National Zoological Park on March 19. A dhole, also known as wild dog, is a canid native to Southeast Asia. After Macchali’s death, the zoo is left with a male dhole. Macchali came to to Delhi zoo from Vizag zoo as part of an animal exchange programme in 2019.
While the 15-year-old nilgai, which was undergoing treatment for age-related issues, died on February 13, the jaguar aged 22, also under treatment and intensive care, succumbed on February 19.
On January 25, a female Sangai deer died after a fight with a male counterpart. In the same month, a nilgai sustained injuries following a fight.
On January 2, a one-horned rhinoceros named Dharmendra died under mysterious circumstances. On December 28 last year, a nine-month-old white tiger cub succumbed to “traumatic shock and acute pneumonia”, according to zoo officials. Established in November 1959, the Delhi Zoo houses 95 species of animals and birds and is considered a ‘model’ zoo for the country.
