Karnataka: 10 barking deer die in Pilikula

MANGALURU: In a tragic incident reported from Pilikula Biological Park, 10 barking deer (Muntjacs) died and five others are being treated for an injury after they were reportedly attacked by stray dogs.
H J Bhandary, the director of the park, told TOI, “It is unfortunate that we lost 10 barking deer. About five years ago, the park had received four barking deer that was rescued. They have multiplied in our enclosure. They were around 35 barking deer,” he said.
It was only last week that the officers were thinking of releasing a few of them in the wild. Bhandary said, “The plan was to retain only 10 of them in the park. Unfortunately, due to heavy rain, a tree had fallen on the compound wall. We suspect that the dogs would have entered the enclosure through the tree. Five of them are under treatment. Measures will be taken to raise the compound wall and increase patrolling during the night. We are also considering keeping only 10 barking deer in the park and releasing the rest in the wild. This will help ease congestion in the enclosure. We are hoping that the injured ones will recover, “he said.
Jerald Vikram Lobo, the scientific officer said. “We noticed about eight dogs in the enclosure on Friday. Some have died due to an attack by the stray dogs, others out of fear or exhaustion after trying the run around in the enclosure, “he added.