Rescued blackbuck finds new home in zoo

NEW DELHI: He is young, sprightly and spotted. And he responds to the name Chotu. The seven-month-old blackbuck fawn was rescued from a house in Moradabad district about 20 days back. Sources told the rescue team that the animal had been captured from a nearby forest area and was being used for illegal trade. On Wednesday, Chotu- now highly tame- found a new home in Delhi Zoo.
The baby blackbuck is exceedingly fond of biscuits and bread, a result of his extended interaction with humans. People For Animals (PFA), that rescued the highly endangered animal, said that they got a lead to his whereabouts from a man who was recently arrested for possession of several exotic parrots. "About three weeks back, a man arrested for illegal trade in parrots gave us information that a blackbuck fawn was being held by a trader in wildlife goods in Moradabad's Chandausi district. The same day PFA's UP team reached the place and found the fawn tied up in a house. The man was not present at that time and we have not managed to trace him so far," said Saurabh Gupta, member, PFA.
After being rescued, the fawn was taken to JP Nagar forest area, again in Moradabad. Sources said that the animal was under tremendous stress and required immediate medical attention. "Forest officials were present when we arrived at the forest. He was under medical supervision for about 18 days before he was finally shifted to Delhi. The animal had become quite tame and UP officials said that they did not have the facility to keep him under constant supervision. We then requested Delhi Zoo to give him shelter as they already have a blackbuck enclosure," added Gupta.
Chotu, named so by his rescuers, was brought to Delhi Zoo on Wednesday and after a thorough medical check-up has been placed in quarantine for a month. "He has gone through a lot of stress. We cannot leave him with the other blackbucks as he will probably not be able to survive without help for some time. In another month or so we will release him in the blackbuck enclosure and see how he fares," said sources.
Blackbucks are highly endangered and have been placed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act. Their hunting is strictly prohibited and in areas like Rajasthan, where their numbers have diminished significantly, village communities have taken on their protection.