Sixteen spotted deer have died since February in Delhi zoo, authorities cofirmed on Tuesday but were unable to give concrete reasons for the death.
“The animals are suspected to have died of rabies although we have sent the samples to laboratory and are waiting for the reports to ascertain the exact cause of death,” said Riyaz Khan, the zoo Curator.
“It is difficult to say the actual reason. Zoo premise is like a dense forest and it is impossible to trace movement of wild cats and other animals. Samples were sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Izatnagar, Bareilly,” said the zoo official.
On being asked whether mongoose bites triggered rabies in the animals, Khan said proper care is being taken of zoo inmates and no laxity is tolerated.
“let us wait for the lab reports before speculating,” he said.
A vaccination programme is being undertaken at the zoo for the animals as well as the zookeepers, an official said. These steps have been taken to arrest the trend as more such animals could fall prey to rabies.
Delhi zoo houses around 120 spotted deer. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has asked for a detailed report from the National Zoological Park in this regard. CZA runs its breeding programmes for the Royal Bengal Tiger, Indian rhinoceros, swamp deer, Asiatic lion, brow-antlered deer and red jungle fowl at the Delhi zoo.
However, the wild animal activists have claimed that as per the laws, it is the responsibility of the zoo authorities to ensure vaccination so that other animals are not affected.
Zoo officials added zookeepers are also being vaccinated, “The disease is non-communicable but there is chance of an infected animal’s saliva coming into the contact with human blood so authorities are taking all necessary measures. All zoo workers have been asked to wear gloves and boots before entering the enclosure.
Reacting on the deaths of the deer, the animal right activists said that zoo administration is lacking as they are not able to identify the main reason of 16 deer death.
Zoo officials said that the outbreak surfaced on February 14 after drain water swamped the deer enclosure. When two of the animals died, officials assumed they drank contaminated water. But soon other deer started falling ill, with at least one of them frothing at the mouth.
Delhi zoo has different categories of deer. Among them, the most popular are Swamp , Sangali , Barking , Sambar , Sikka , Hog and Spotted deer.