VELLORE: A three-year-old adult male spotted deer was found dead in the shrubs along the Palar Riverbed near Karai Village in Ranipet. The antlers were found chopped off from the carcass, raising the suspicion that the animal might have been a victim of poaching.
The villagers of Karai alerted the Arcot Range forest officials about the dead deer early on Tuesday. Following this, a team rushed to the spot to recover the carcass of the deer.
They found the antlers missing and there were bite marks on the thigh of the animal, said an official.
Ruling out poaching, the forest officials said that the deer had died of a stray dog bite, but they admitted that some miscreants had chopped off the antlers.
“The adult deer might have strayed out of the forest area in search of water and would have been chased and bitten by stray dogs. There are deep bite marks on the animal’s thigh. The antlers had been removed by someone using a sharp weapon,” said a forest official, preferring anonymity.
Forest Ranger of Arcot Range M Vijay told Express that the deer might have been attacked by a pack of dogs.
“The carcass had turned a little dark and the blood that oozed out of the wound had dried. The animal was also found bloated. Going by all these signs, we assume the animal would have died around 11 pm, six hours before it was found. The antlers would be around 1 ½ feet that were found cut,” said the Ranger.
The Forest Department personnel took the carcass to the Government Veterinary Hospital in Ranipet for a post-mortem. “After the post-mortem, we took the dead deer to the reserve forest in Vannivedu and cremated it,” he said.
The officials have sent a report to the District Forest Officer H Raja Mohan. Based on the direction of the senior officials, the department register a case and investigate. “I have asked the officials to conduct an inquiry if they suspect that the animal was hunted down for its antlers,” said DFO Raja Mohan.
