Tree replant plan for deer shade

The authorities are planning to transplant full-grown trees in the deer enclosure of Eco Tourism Park to provide the animals some shade in the scorching heat. 

The deer park was opened earlier this year and has more than 50 deer living there but the forest department officials, who are in charge of their upkeep, have observed that they do not have much options to take refuge when the sun glares down. 

“The enclosure has several kraals (open huts with thatched roofs and mud flooring) and this is where the deer spend most of their time clustered together. But if the bucks spend too much time in close proximity they can break into nasty fights,” said a forest department officer. “It is torturous to keep them in a place that doesn’t have a single grown tree.” 

Raju Das, the chief conservator of forests, says saplings had been planted while building the enclosure but that they are still too small to provide shade. “Hopefully, the saplings will grow big if the monsoon arrives on time,” he said, adding that in the wild deer usually rest under trees. “So we are now planning to transplant grown trees inside the deer park.” 

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) guidelines specifically state that deer parks should have an adequate number of fodder trees as well as shade trees. The authorities could not say how many trees would be brought in and from where but work is expected to start soon. The five keepers at the deer park have also been feeding them leafy vegetables like lettuce, beet and portions of barley to help them combat the harsh summer. 

The deer park, named Harinalaya, is located near Eco Park’s gate no. 6 and has two varieties of deer. There are around four barking deer and the rest are spotted deer. 
 

Zoo authority pointers

♦ Fodder trees and shade trees should be planted in the park area

♦ Area of park to be at least 5 hectares

♦ Deer should be at a reasonable distance from residential accommodation.

♦ A deer park should have a treatment and a post-mortem room.

♦ Daily visits by a veterinarian

♦ Adequate supply of clean potable water inside the animal enclosure.

♦ The number of animals in the deer parks should not be more than one animal for larger ungulates and three animals per acre for smaller ungulates.

♦ To safe-guard against inbreeding, periodic exchange of animals specially males, should be made with other zoos.

♦ Night shelter/kraals should be constructed for the deer. 

The deer had been brought in from the Taratala Deer Park that was being run by a fishermen’s cooperative. 

The cooperative has reportedly written to the CZA recently requesting repossession of a few deer from Harinalaya. 

The CZA had asked the cooperative to speak to the forest department on this issue but the forest officers say nothing can be done. “The cooperative had sought permission from CZA to keep their park running but CZA had overruled them saying only one deer park can be kept functional in the city,” Das told the Telegraph Salt Lake.