Six sambar deer from the defunct VOC Park Zoo in Coimbatore city were released into the wild at the Siruvani foothills on Friday. Forest Department officials said the released deer included a fawn and two adult males.
The deer were lured into a modified truck that was parked inside their enclosure. Six deer that entered the truck on Friday morning were brought to a reserve forest area at the Siruvani foothills around noon and they were released into the wild.
The authorities had released a batch of five sambar deer from the park to a forest area at the Siruvani foothills on July 4. Zoo authorities said 10 more sambar deer remained in the zoo and they would be released into the wild soon.
The Forest Department said faecal pellets of all the deer were sent to the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC) at Vandalur to test the presence of diseases, including tuberculosis. None of the deer had any disease, according to the Department.
With the support of the zoo caretakers, the Department was providing forest fodders for the deer from March, after suspending concentrated feeds.
As many as 26 spotted deer from the zoo were released into the wild on May 13, 2024. The zoo that housed various animals, birds and reptiles was closed after the Central Zoo Authority cancelled its recognition in January 2022.
