Six blackbucks found dead in Sayaji Baug zoo in Gujarat's Vadodara, cause of death yet to be identifed

Vadodara: Six blackbucks died at Sayaji Baug Zoo in Gujarat’s Vadodara on Friday after they were allegedly attacked by a pack of stray dogs, officials said on Saturday.

The samples of these blackbucks have been sent to a veterinary hospital in Anand to know the exact cause of their death, Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) Commissioner Ajay Bhadoo said.

On Friday, a pack of stray dogs entered the black buck enclosure in the zoo and attacked them, he said.

He said of the total six blackbucks found dead, only three to four of them had dog bite marks on their back or legs, which could not be fatal.

Bhadoo said postmortem of the blackbucks conducted in the presence of veterinarians of the Animal Husbandry department has ruled out dog bites as the cause of death. “Two blackbucks were badly injured as stray dogs mauled them,” he said.

Blackbucks are highly protected species under the schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.

VMC zoo curator Dr Pratyush Patankar said, “Blackbucks are sensitive and timid animals. They would have got scared and ran amok after seeing the dogs. They might have died of shock and not because of dog bites”.

Meanwhile, Bhadoo has warned of strict action against the zoo staff over the incident. He said heavy fine would be imposed on the private agency manning security at the garden. “We have apprised the Delhi-based Central Zoo Authority of the incident. A detailed communication will be sent to them once we received a report from Anand,” he said.