Spotted deer coming out of sanctuary for fodder, water get killed on road, hunted down by stray dogs

Instances of spotted deer being fatally knocked down by speeding vehicles and hunted down by stray dogs are alarmingly increasing as these highly sensitive ruminant mammals easily come out through the badly damaged enclosure around Gangaikondan Spotted Deer Sanctuary in search of fodder and water which are scarcely available inside the sanctuary

Instances of spotted deer being fatally knocked down by speeding vehicles and hunted down by stray dogs are alarmingly increasing as these highly sensitive ruminant mammals easily come out through the badly damaged enclosure around Gangaikondan Spotted Deer Sanctuary in search of fodder and water which are scarcely available inside the sanctuary.

Even though over 600 spotted deer were living in the reserve forest of Gangaikondan and its surroundings for several decades, the late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa declared it as a sanctuary for spotted deer only in 2013. As per the information extracted from the Forest Department in 2020 by nature enthusiast S.P. Muthuraman of Thaazhaiyooththu, the 288.40 hectares of reserve forest in Gangaikondan (Part I) had 196 spotted deer and 107 animals were living on 152.72 hectares in Gangaikondan (Part II). The Thaazhaiyooththu reserve forest with 565 hectares was home for 212 spotted deer. These forests have only acacia, thorny bushes.

While Part I and II areas collectively form the actual sanctuary, around which fence and wall have been erected, railway track passes along the eastern boundary of the sanctuary, the Tirunelveli – Madurai 4-lane national highway is just 30 feet away from western side of the sanctuary with long but badly damaged wall through which the animals can easily come out.

“Though hunting of spotted deer is still happening rarely, the awareness among the public on conservation has resulted in massive increase in the population of the spotted deer in Gangaikondan sanctuary. From the information we get from our friends in the forest department, over 1,000 spotted deer are in and outside the sanctuary. Since the forest department has failed to take effective and sustained measures for conserving these animals by properly strengthening the enclosure around the sanctuary and creating sufficient fodder and water inside, the hungry and desperate spotted deer come out in search of food and water only to be killed on the road or hunted down by stray dogs,” says Mr. Muthuraman, who has filed a case in the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court with the prayer of direction to the government to take effective measures to amalgamate these three reserve forest and protect the deer by erecting walls around and creating base for fodder and water inside the sanctuary.

 However, the Tamil Nadu Government has not evinced any keen interest in creating all infrastructures to be in place inside a sanctuary to ensure the safety of the animals there. Consequently, 116 spotted deer, which had moved out of the Gangaikondan sanctuary for space, food and water, have now settled in Abhishekapatti and another 23 in Rajavallipuram forests.

 Whenever the spotted deer herd move out in search of water and food, they are preyed upon by stray dogs or get killed on the road by speeding vehicles. In the latest incident, a 3-year-old female spotted deer was knocked down by a yet-to-be-identified speeding vehicle on the Thaazhaiyooththu – Thenkalam Road on Wednesday morning. After being informed by the public, the forest personnel took the carcass to the sanctuary for a post-mortem.

 When District Forest Officer C.H. Padma was here, she sent a proposal to the government for creating an integrated sanctuary by erecting tall walls around all four sides after ensuring availability of sufficient fodder and water throughout the year. She also sent a proposal for constructing animal passage flyover across the Tirunelveli – Madurai National Highway. Unfortunately, none of these suggestions is translated into action till today.