Four spotted deer died at the Taptapani park on the Ganjam-Gajapati border during cyclone Hudhud. The adult male deer died of shock when heavy rain with gale lashed the area on October 12, officials said on Thursday.
The carcasses of the deer were recovered from the park on October 13, Divisional Forest Officer (Paralakhemundi) RK Singh said. Most of the deer were above 20 years of age and might have died a natural death, he added.
Veterinary doctors of Dengaosta carried out the postmortem on the deer. The exact cause of death would be known only after the postmortem report is available, Forest Range Officer (Chandragiri) FC Behera said.
At present, the park has 158 deer of four species. Among them are 120 spotted deer, three blackbucks, 32 sambars and three barking deer, said the range officer.
Three deer had died in the park in Cyclone Phailin on October 12 lat year and the park had also sustained heavy damages.
However, there was no major damage to the park this time, he said.
The Taptapani deer park is one of the tourist attractions in Ganjam district with 35,000 to 40,000 footfalls every year.