At Karnataka’s Belagavi zoo, 29 blackbucks die of bacterial infection in four days

On Sunday, Dr Sunil Panwar, a member secretary of the Zoo Authority of Karnataka, visited the facility and said that the blackbuck deaths were being investigated. “It is unfortunate. The minister (Eshwar Khandre) has ordered an inquiry into the incident,” he said, noting that action would be initiated against zoo staff if negligence is found to be the reason for the deaths of animals.

Veterinary scientists from institutes in Bengaluru are investigating the blackbuck deaths. The experts are learnt to have conducted the post-mortems of three of the blackbucks. Samples of food and water provided to the animals were also collected to ascertain the source of the bacterial contamination.

The zoo is located in Bhutaramanhatti village, 15 km from Belagavi. The blackbucks were brought from the Gadag zoo around four years ago. Of the 28 blackbucks dead till Saturday, 13 were male and 15 female. Eight of them were reported dead on Thursday evening, and 20 more perished by Saturday morning.

Thirty-eight black bucks were brought to the mini-zoo when they were aged between four and six years. According to the zoo authorities, this was the first time in the state that the bacterial infection had claimed the lives of captive animals. The authorities have quarantined the animals and their enclosures have been closed.

Soon after the deaths became public, Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre announced on Saturday that a committee of experts would examine whether contaminated water or feed was among the causes for the infection.

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