A male deer which strayed from the forest area near Tiruvarangulam, was mauled by a dog at Vamban near here on Tuesday. The deer died of wounds.
Forest officials said that the deer strayed into the village in search of water, when the tragedy struck.
Veterinary doctors conducted a post-mortem on the spot and the carcass was buried in the area.
Forest officials imposed a fine of Rs.10,000 on a group of three persons – Rasu (40), Muthu (23) and Marimuthu (23) of Oothukuli near Manapparai, for hunting wild rabbits in the forest of Rappusal near Iluppur on Wednesday.
The action followed a tip-off from the Forest Protection Squad personnel who alerted the officials. Selvaraj, District Forest Officer, deputed a team of officials who seized the carcass of a rabbit hunted by the group at the spot.