The Hindu : Male deer at Neyyar park to be sterilised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 16, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Male deer at Neyyar park to be sterilised

By S. Anil Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM May 15. In a bid to check the population of spotted deer housed in the Forest and Wildlife Department's deer park at Vlavetty in Neyyar wildlife sanctuary, all male deer are to be sterilised.

The sterlisation of the spotted deer (Axis axis) will be taken up from May 20 in batches in the segregated shed being constructed by the department on the park premises, a senior official of the department told `The Hindu'.

Of the 25 deer housed in the deer park at present, nine are male deer. The sex of the five young deer is yet to be ascertained. The authorities are planning to sterlise 3-4 deer in the first batch, and then perform the surgery on others.

According to the official, it would be a difficult task to drive the male deer from the 4.2 hectares of park into the segregated shed for sterilisation. The sterilised deer will be kept in the shed for a week for monitoring and then be released into the park before taking up the second batch.

To identify the sterlised male deer, the authorities are planning to either paint the horns or to provide them ear rings.

The department has decided to go in for sterilisation of the male deer in view of the increasing population and the mounting expenses incurred towards meeting food expenses of the deer. The department has to find on an average Rs. 3.5 lakhs alone annually for purchasing fodder, pulses and other food items.

The deer park was set up in 1995 in 4.2 hectares of land at Vlavetty as a rehabilitation centre with the four spotted deer handed over from Thiruvananthapuram Zoo as part of the department's effort to tame them and release them into the forest. However, the authorities have not been able to release even one deer into the forest so far as Neyyar is not the natural habitat. The spotted deer need more open space and marshy areas. The Neyyar wildlife sanctuary is mostly dense and is not suited for the release of the spotted deer, the official said.

As 14 settlements are in the Neyyar wildlife sanctuary premises, the authorities fear that the deer, if released into the forest, will invade and destroy the crop. The deer cannot be transported from the park as the mortality rate is on the higher side while being shifted from one place to another in vehicles.

Already, the male lions in the State's lone Lion Safari Park at Neyyar were sterilised recently as part of the Forest Department authorities effort to check the population.

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