An inspection at the showcase Delhi zoo on Tuesday, triggered by a Mail Today report about a spate of deer deaths, forced authorities to do a double take after it emerged that not 16 but 33 chitals had died mysteriously over the past three months.
A three-member team of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), a regulatory body for zoos under the government of India, as well as representatives of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) separately visited the park to investigate the matter and found several lapses by zoo officials.
The zoo's veterinary department told Mail Today on Monday that 16 spotted deer died after a suspected outbreak of rabies, with 13 samples testing positive. However, on checking the records the reviewers found that the death toll was actually more than double the quoted figure.
"Records and postmortem reports of deer were examined after which it was found that 33 deer died. The situation is alarming," said a senior officer.
The issue has drawn outrage from animal rights activists who say something is wrong at the zoo that houses over a thousand animals, reptiles and birds. It was in the news two years ago when a young man was mauled to death by a white tiger after he jumped into the large cat's enclosure.
But the zoo officials are trying to play down the number of deer deaths, which the CZA has already termed an "epidemic".
A source confirmed the death toll to Mail Today but zoo officials remained tight-lipped.
The inspection team found that zoo authorities were lax in dealing with the crisis and failed to act in time.
"Despite the spread of epidemic, which resulted in the deaths of 33 deer, the zoo's health advisory committee did not act and no meeting was held. The panel is supposed to meet every few months but no meeting has been held in two years," a senior official said. Also, the zoo officials brought in two Himalayan black deer from Gopalpur in Himachal Pradesh last week, flouting CZA rules.
"The CZA guideline clearly mentions that no animal should be transported during the summer. Despite this zoo officials transported high-altitude Himalayan black deer from Himachal. This is clearly in violation of government rules," the official added.
The move came at the time of when Delhi is reeling under scorching heat, forcing authorities to shut down schools. Zoo officials are also facing criticism for sending just two veterinary officials to transport the animals.
Sources say the suspected rabies outbreak surfaced on February 14 after drain water swamped the deer enclosure. When two of the animals died, officials assumed they drank contaminated water. But soon other deer started falling ill, with at least one of them frothing at the mouth.
Samples of dead animal were sent to IVRI which confirmed death due to rabies virus. Zoo authorities have started vaccinating other animals, though the CZA indicates they failed to act promptly. Officials suspect the chital died of rabies triggered by mongoose bites but have found little evidence so far.
The zoo has around 120 spotted deer. Following the deaths, 20 have been vaccinated and separated from the herd. The inspecting team also pointed out that the process adopted for vaccination is timeconsuming. "Animals are being vaccinated in a group of 5-6 and kept in separate areas so that the complete herd is treated. So far, close to 20 deer have been vaccinated.
The process of vaccination of a group of animals takes 14 days in which three doses of vaccine is given. If they continue to go at same pace then it will take a year to vaccinate over 100 deer at the zoo," an official said.
Along with animals, zookeepers are also being vaccinated. All workers are wearing gloves and boots before entering the enclosure.
