Deer Invasions in Hazaribag: Residents Concerned Over Habitat and Management

Hazaribag: Frequent movement of deer into human settlements in the Ichak forest zone has raised concerns among residents over habitat conditions and management. In the past six days, three deer were rescued from human habitations.On Friday evening, a barking deer wandered into Jogidih-Jagda village. Villagers, however, ensured the animal was not harmed. During the rescue effort, a few locals sustained minor injuries.Acting on the directions of divisional forest officer Maun Prakash, a team comprising head forest guard Gopi Paswan, Virendra Kumar, Bhola Sahu and in-charge forester Vidya Bhushan Kesri reached the spot and sent the animal for treatment.Kesri ruled out lack of availability of food and water for animals in forests. “Wild animals entering human settlements during summer is not new,” he claimed.Residents, however, questioned recurrence of such incidents despite dedicated funds being allocated to the forest department. The forest department, on the other hand, appealed to people not to approach or provoke animals and inform authorities for proper action.