A Sambar deer that strayed into Udangudi near Tiruchendur in the district on Sunday night died during the rescue operation.
The four-year-old female deer strayed into Udangudi from the nearby forest and entered a commercial complex around 8 p.m.,
The public alerted the Forest Department and three officials came to the spot around 11 p.m. without any equipment or net to catch the wild animal.
They sought the help of Fire and Rescue Services personnel, who arrived at the spot with a rope and caught the animal around 1 a.m. However, a wrong knot strangulated the deer, which died minutes after being caught.
“The animal, which remained calm, could have been caught with a net or they could have used the right knot and caught it. Even after the knot landed around its neck, the deer was relatively calm and the rescuers could have easily caught it. Unfortunately, it died in the operation conducted by the Forest Department and the Fire and Rescue Services personnel due to their unprofessional approach,” said V. Gunaseelan of Udangudi.
A few others complained that the forest personnel were under the influence of alcohol when they reached the spot.
District Forest Officer Abhishek Tomar said the Sambar deer, a hyper-sensitive timid animal, could not withstand even a brief but hot chasing as it would suffer a heart attack. After the people gathered in large numbers, the abnormal situation and the noise could have frightened it.
“I neither justify nor support the way the animal was caught. As the rope around the neck got tightened, the forest personnel released the rope in a bid to avoid the tragic death. Only after getting the post-mortem report, we’ll come to know of the cause of death. If the wrong knot had caused the death, we’ll not hesitate to take action against the forest personnel,” Mr. Tomar said.
He added he would also probe the charge that the forest personnel involved in the rescue operation were in inebriated.
