Five sambar deer released into forest

:Five adult sambar deer - three males and two females - were transported from the VOC Park Zoo to the foot of Siruvani hills and released into forest area on Saturday afternoon.

Forest officials said the movement of the deer will be monitored to determine adequacy of food and water intake. Earlier this month, sambar deer were released on two occasions: five animals firstly and six animals next, at the foot of Siruvani hills.

Before shifting, the faecal pellets were sent for testing at the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation, Vandalur, to rule out infection.

Also, prior to release into the wild, concentrate feed was replaced with greens for the animals for adaptation in forest.

Last month, 26 spotted deer - 10 adult males, 11 females and five fawns - were released into the wild at the Siruvani foothills.

The shifting of the deer from the zoo was carried out as per the directive of the Chief Wildlife Warden, Tamil Nadu, after the Central Zoo Authority cancelled the zoo’s recognition during January 2022, due to infrastructure and maintenance issues.