Ten spotted deer killed in purported stray dog attack in Thrissur's new zoological park

THRISSUR: Ten spotted deer were found dead on Tuesday morning at the Puthur Zoological Park, which started functioning only from October 28. The initial conclusion points fingers at a stray dog attack. The presence of stray dogs was confirmed in the nearby CCTV footage.

Ten of the 21 deer in the park died. A red deer was also found dead on Monday. Two dogs were caught in the deer's habitat. The employees of the Puthur Park found the deer lying dead in various places at around 6:30 am on Tuesday.

Zoological Park Director B.N. Nagaraju told Kerala Kaumudi that the cause of death will be clear only after the postmortem.

A five-member team, led by Arun Zacharia, Chief Veterinary Surgeon of the Forest Department and a renowned wildlife veterinarian, is conducting the post-mortem of the deer. The internal organs will then be sent to the lab for examination. There are no cameras in the deer's habitat. The park director and special officer will seek an explanation from the employees who were on duty at night.