Second blackbuck killed in three weeks on IIT-M campus

Blackbuck killed on IIT-M campus, spotted deer recovering; plans to relocate animals to Guindy National Park.

A blackbuck was killed after being hit by a car on the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) campus on Tuesday. This is the second such incident in the past three weeks. In another incident, around three weeks ago, a spotted deer got its leg caught in a discarded mesh fence. It is now recovering at the Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary and is expected to be released soon.

The IIT-M campus is home to a few blackbucks and spotted deer, alongside the Guindy National Park and the Raj Bhavan. The population of these animals have shown a significant decline over the years. While annual censuses were once conducted regularly, they have now become inconsistent.

Srinivas R. Reddy, Chief Wildlife Warden, acknowledged the prevalence of such incidents and said the Forest Department was considering screening the spotted deer and blackbucks within IIT-M to assess their health. There are plans to potentially relocate some of these animals to the Guindy National Park.