Deer outside protected areas to be shifted

Wildlife authorities have already translocated around 60 deer found roaming

An estimated 300 spotted deer are found outside protected areas in a total of 30 locations within the city limits. Photo: M. Srinath

Sighting spotted deer on the Anna University campus, or in Kotturpuram, Adambakkam and other residential localities will soon become a thing of the past.

Thanks to the efforts of wildlife authorities, deer found outside protected areas such as Guindy national park and the campuses of Raj Bhavan and IIT-Madras will be translocated.

A senior wildlife officer said these free-ranging deer fed on garbage dumped by people and, in some areas, were fed by residents. They were also exposed to the danger of being bitten by community dogs. In light of these issues, the authorities have decided to translocate them, the officer said.

An estimated 300 spotted deer are found outside protected areas in a total of 30 locations within the city limits, identified by wildlife authorities. Guindy Industrial Estate, Indra Nagar, Thillai Ganga Nagar, Adambakkam, Tambaram Railway Colony, Kannagi Nagar, Velachery and Kotturpuram are some of them.

A proposal to translocate the deer was sent to the government sometime ago, and it issued an order a couple of days ago, sources in the wildlife department said. A sum of Rs. 44.73 lakh has been sanctioned for the work, which began last week and would be completed by March next year, said a senior wildlife officer.

No tranquilisers to be used

Explaining the process involved in translocating the deer, authorities said they had decided not to use chemical tranquilisers to trap the deer. Instead, a cage would be set up with feed inside. For nearly a fortnight, authorities would provide feed inside the enclosure. Once the deer gets accustomed to eating the food kept in the enclosure, the animal would be trapped in it and transported to the protected areas.

Places for translocation

Trapped deer would be translocated to Guindy National Park, Vandalur zoo, Vandalur reserved forest and other nearby forest areas, according to authorities. Already, officials have translocated nearly 60 deer from the Ekkatuthangal, Kotturpuram and Madhya Kailash areas on a trial basis, they added.