HAZARIBAGH: All arrangement was in place to release the 14 spotted deer and shambhars into the Hazaribagh National Park to mark the Wildlire Preservation Month in Jharkhand, but the animals just couldn't care less.
They fiercely resisted attempt by Forest Department personnel to release them in the 186 square-kilometre Hazaribagh National Park on October two, belying animals' love for the wild so tellingly portrayed in the Hollywood classic 'Born Free'.
The animals were reared in a specially marked area covering 40 hectares inside the Hazaribagh National Park, 20 km from the Hazaribagh town, after bringing them from reserved forests in other states, the DFO, Wild Life Division, Hazaribag, Anil Kumar Mishra, said.
He said none of the golden coloured Chitals moved out of the cages in which they were brought near the forest in the presence of the Conservator of Forests (Wild Life) Sashi Nandkuliyar.
"Despite our best efforts none of the Chitals came out from their safe haven where they had been secure and were getting a regular supply of food. They were ultimately released only on the fourth attempt," the DFO said.
The Hazaribagh National Park once boasted the largest number of spotted deer in the country, but over the years they disappeared due to rampant poaching and felling of trees.
Then to restore the deer population, chitals were brought from other reserved forests and primed in the Rajderwa forest inside the National Park. They now numbered 50 out of which 14 were released.
Before releasing them their blood samples and pailatus (stool) were collected and examined by the medical team. They were also vaccinated against possible infection, he said.
Only fit and healthy chitals were released in the natural forest, the DFO said. Some of them found unfit were segregated from the group and would be freed later.
The DFO said a large number of deer would be brought from the DVC's deer parks in Chandrapura and Maithon as well as from the Birsa Zoological Garden in Ranchi and set free in the natural forest of the Hazaribagh National Park very shortly as proper norms were not being followed in the parks to rear the animals.
''We hope that the Hazaribag National Park will get back its lost glory and tourists will once again head for the natural forest once the shifting of the deer is complete,'' the DFO said.
