Animals are neither safe in the wild nor in the zoo

Mysore’s famed Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Garden is slowly losing its prized possessions. Out of the six chinkaras (Indian Gazelle) that were brought to the zoo three years ago, only one is alive now. Zoo officials blame it on the weather and say that the animals faced adjustment problems.

It was about three years ago when six chinkaras were brought to Mysore Zoo with the hope that they will procreate and increase the number of species the zoo flaunts. Speaking about the issue, Dr Dhanalakshmi, veterinarian, Mysore zoo, said, “We had brought one pair from Lucknow and two pairs from Chandigarh. They were doing well until recently.”

In the past three years, almost all chinkaras (also known as blackbuck) died of viral infection. However, the zoo authorities maintain it was due to the climate.

“The first buck died in 2009. It was ill for a week. The autopsy revealed that the animal was suffering from a viral infection,” an official said.

With the last chinkara left, there is gloom in the zoo enclosures. “The fifth chinkara died on Monday morning and we realised it on Tuesday. We have not yet done a postmortem on it as it seems like the same case of viral infection,” said another zoo official.

Chinkaras (Gazella bennettii) are a type of gazelle, native to various regions of southern Asia including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and, predominantly, India giving it the common name ‘Indian Gazelle’.