Stray dogs, speeding vehicles pose threat to deer in IIT-M

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The lush green IIT-Madras campus has long been a sprawling habitat for spotted deer and black bucks. But they are no more safe here as stray dogs on campus are proving a huge threat to them.

Since January this year there have been three cases of spotted deer either being admitted to the Velachery wildlife rescue centre with injuries or being brought dead to the forest department as a result of serious dog bites.

Sometimes they are also knocked down by speeding vehicles on campus.

Concerned by the deer deaths, the IIT authorities have installed warning boards over the last couple of years restricting the speed of vehicles.

Director of IIT - Madras Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, who reveals the campus supports a stable population of about 250 spotted deer, admits a few have died due to dog bites.

“The dogs attack the old and dying deer and sometimes even feed on the dead animals,” he acknowledged, but claimed it was difficult to stop the dogs from entering the institute’s grounds from the neighbourhoods around it as they had a good number of them.

“Efforts to relocate the dogs have also proved futile. We took a few to Vandalur but they returned, “he added, claiming that several steps had been taken to protect the spotted deer and black bucks on campus.