Thaindian News

By Sankha Ghosh

Kolkata, Aug 7 (ANI): Alipore zoo authorities here have decided to release 60 spotted deer into Sunderbans Tiger Reserve to improve the food supply of Bengal tigers, which usually strayinto villages and attackpeople.

“We have an excess population of deer over here, which has bred over here and multiplied over the course of time. Now we have taken a decision after getting proper permission from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) and getting the approval from other authorities concerned in this field that we will be shifting out of the total population of 70, we will be shifting about 60 of them to Sunderbans,” said Raju Das, Director of Alipore Zoological Gardens.

“Initially, they’ll be taken over there and be kept in an enclosure so that they can acclimatize themselves to the surrounding and to the environment over there. Once they have acclimatized, they will be released in the wild,” he added.

Das informed all required permissions have been taken and medical tests for all the spotted deer completed. They are free from any disease.

The zoo authorities are hopeful that this initiative would help reduce the number of incidents of human-tiger conflict and will help in augmenting a prey base in the Sunderbans.

According to the visitors in the Alipore zoo, the decision of shifting deer is right and people staying in the nearby areas of Sunderbans National Park will be benefited with it.

“I have heard that some deer will be shifted from Alipore zoo to the Sunderbans. I feel that it is right because the Bengal tiger have shortage of food so they are straying into villages and attacking people and the livestock. So once deer are shifted the shortage of food supply for the Sunderbans tigers will improve. Even the villagers will be benefited with this,” said Shyamali Bhattacharya, a visitor. (ANI)