Central team to visit Vadodara zoo to probe deer death

Top officials at Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Saturday said the deceased animal was a deer,which does not come in the list of endangered species and is a non-scheduled animal. The animal activist on the other hand said he has evidence to prove that the dead animal was a sambar,which is a Schedule-I animal.

While zoo officials removed the dead crows,they reportedly did not take care of the injured deer and one of them was seriously injured. A group of NGOs opposed to the stand taken by Bhavsar endorsed that animals are well kept in the zoo by the authorities. A team of forest officials from Vadodara had also

visited the zoo to take stock of the situation.

“We strongly suspect the animal was cremated without any formalities at night. When I went to the zoo along with the forest officials to find out more about the situation,we were not allowed to do so. I have been pleading with the top officials at the VMC and Forest department to help me in verifying the information,but none has shown the courage. While the Forest department has failed to perform its duty,top VMC officials have turned a blind eye to the issue,” said the activist.

Meanwhile,top zoo officials said the activist is trying to earn publicity out of an incident that is routine. “The deer fight during their mating season and they even get injured and this must have happened here too,” said an official.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner A O Sharma who is responsible for zoo-related issues told The Sunday Express: “I have confirmed with the zoo curator C B Patel that it was a deer and not sambar. The animal apparently died due to shock after the activists and media ventured too close to it. We have cremated the deer with due formalities and the medical reports are awaited.”