BAHAWALPUR: Seven precious spotted deer died mysteriously in their enclosure at the zoo on Friday night.

It is learnt that the fatalities took place when the zoo had hardly any visitor.

According to eyewitnesses and field staff members, the deer while having their food began to collapse one after another and expired after some time.

They said they noticed that the falling deer were in great distress and they had been rolling on the ground and later expired within no time.

They expressed apprehension that there might be some adulteration in the fodder they were given and negligence of the officials could not be ruled out.

A press release issued by the zoo curator on Saturday confirmed that a sudden serious condition emerged in which deer in their enclosure began falling.

He said they were immediately provided first-aid but seven of the 22 deer died. The lives of others were saved by providing them timely medical assistance, he added.

Curator Ibrar Ahmed said a team had been constituted to conduct the postmortem examination of the dead deer and the medical examination of those which had been saved. The team comprises veterinarians of the livestock departments of Bahawalpur and Cholistan and a teacher of the Cholistan University’s zoology department.

He said the team sent samples for analysis at the laboratories. The postmortem of a deer would be conducted at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore as well.

Wildlife Bahawalpur Division Deputy Director Rai Zahid Ali told Dawn that it was premature to say anything about the cause of deer casualties but the possibility of mischief could not be ruled out.

He said a three-member committee had been formed to probe the incident.

Headed by Cholistan Livestock Department (Bahawalpur) Deputy Director Dr Sohail Azmat, the committee would submit a report into the possible causes of the Zoo incident within two to three days. It would also recommend action against any official found guilty of negligence.

Meanwhile, wildlife activists and civil society condemned the incident and demanded action against the officials responsible for it.

They urged the divisional commissioner and the deputy commissioner to take strict notice of the loss of lives and poor maintenance of the local zoo.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2020