Chennai: For the first time in the country, the State Forest Department has translocated 10 spotted deer from the city to the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), a distance of 700 km.
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh had shifted deer for a distance between 300 km and 500 km.
“The shifting of the animals were ordered by Forest Minister Dindigul C Sreenivasan owing to the dwindling population in the KMTR,” a forest department press release said.
It further said another reason for the translocation was because the deer which strayed into the city suburbs ate solid waste and carry bags which led to health issues.
The deer were transported in a specially designed truck with an ambience closely resembling to that for a forest. The truck was stopped in between to provide water to the deer and the feed was kept inside. Since the animals are very sensitive, it is said a ramp was placed to move the animals from quarantine into the truck.
So far, nearly 150 deer have been captured, of which about 50 per cent have been released in the nearby reserve forests and the Guindy National Park, and the remaining have been kept in quarantine for release in batches.
The forest staff have been instructed to monitor the animals for a month till they get adopted to the new environment.