KARACHI: Five black bucks were mauled to death in their enclosure by stray dogs late Sunday night, sources told Dawn on Monday.

However, zoo officials called it an ‘accident’ while admitting only three of the mortalities which they blamed on ‘animal infighting’.

The Karachi commissioner, who also heads the zoo advisory committee, has ordered an inquiry into the case.

Sources said it’s the first-ever major incident at the zoo in which loose canines claimed the life of five animals. Earlier in the 1990s, they said, stray dogs had killed three gazelles.

“Stray dogs have become a real menace for over a month.

“One of the five zoo gates remains open till late night, providing an opportunity to the dogs to find their way into the facility,” said a member of the zoo staff.

He added that most watchmen didn’t perform their duties despite taking regular salaries.

Responding to a question, zoo officials admitted only three mortalities which they blamed on ‘animal infighting’.

“It’s just a an accident. Three male black bucks were found dead in the morning in their enclosure. They died from fatal injuries that they had received in a fight and there was no way we could treat them,” said zoo director Fahim Khan.

In reply to another question, he argued that infighting among animals was a routine matter and could happen at any time. A post-mortem examination of all the three animals was carried out by the zoo vet, he said.

“Seven animals including females were kept in one enclosure whereas 14 were kept in the other,” he said.

Experts who are familiar with the behaviour of the ungulate species said that mutual fighting in black bucks was rare.

“Night is the time to rest and fighting in animals normally takes place during the day. Being a non-aggressive animal, male black bucks do lock horns when they have a fight but separate easily without causing any major injury to each other,” said a former zoo official.

What could scare black bucks at night and endanger their lives were vehicles’ headlights. “If they are exposed to intense light, they may run into the enclosure grille in confusion and die. Nature of injuries, however, can easily determine the cause of death. In case of mutual fights, animals will have punctured wounds while it’s the external and internal bleeding that will kill an animal if it’s attacked by a dog.”

Karachi Commissioner Syed Asif Hyder Shah said he had received the information on animal deaths and would conduct an inquiry into the matter. “The inquiry will include independent experts so we can discover the real reason behind animal deaths,” he said.

An ungulate species of antelope, black bucks are native to the subcontinent. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the black buck as near threatened since 2003 as its range had decreased sharply during the 20th century.

The endangered species is protected under the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1972.

Last year’s intense heatwave, which killed six animals in the zoo, also killed a black buck at Safari Park.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2016