Pregnant deer falls and dies after it's chased by stray dogs

MUMBAI: A pregnant spotted deer was found dead on the fringes of

Sanjay Gandhi National Park

(SGNP) in Mulund on Saturday morning. This is the second deer found dead in the suburbs in the past 48 hours.

An eyewitness has claimed that the deer fell from a height while it was being chased by a herd of langurs around 9am. said

Sunish Subramanian

, secretary of Plants & Animals Welfare Society. However, forest officials had a different version. Chief conservator of forests Anwar Ahmed said that a dog, and not a langur, must have chased the deer.

“Langurs are generally not known to chase. Unless both animals were running after a common food target,“ said Ahmed.

“The four-year-old deer was pregnant. It ran into an under-construction wall near Mulund. Our rescue team reached the spot around 9.15am,“ he added.

A day earlier, another female deer that had ventured out of Aarey Colony died af ter being run over by an auto on the Western Express Highway . Veterinary officer at SGNP, Dr

Shailesh Pethe

, said that a post-mortem examination was conducted in the evening. The deer's carcass was cremated after the post-mortem examination.

Vidya Venkatesh, who works in the field of wildlife conservation, said that the two deer deaths in less than 48 hours could be freak cases.“I wouldn't think it is a cause for concern,“ she said.

“Since deer coexist with langurs, I'd rule out the possibility of langurs chasing a deer. But if dogs were chasing this deer, it is certainly an area of concern. The rising population of stray dogs, especially around wildlife habitat pockets, needs to be addressed urgently .“