01 Jun, 2018

Eight Deer Die of Scorching Heat in MP’s Dewas

Eight Deers found dead in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh. The reason behind their death is excessive heat.

The searing heat seems to have started troubling the wild creatures. May 30, a shocking event came into news when the villages of Khategaon Tehsil discovered the carcasses of 8 deer in a field on Bhatasa road. Soon after discovering the dead antelopes, the villagers informed forest officials about the same. Amongst those, 4 were male and 4 were female antelopes. The moment when forest officials reached the spot, the carcasses were seized under their authority and were sent for the autopsy. The autopsy was carried out by the veterinary surgeon Mahesh Suryavanshi, who attributed heat stroke as the cause of death of the 8 deer. Lack of water is also being considered as one reason for the death of those wild creatures. Moreover, the funeral of the antelopes was performed by forest officials in the Sannod Nursery area.

Other Similar Incidents

For past couple of days, the whole country is reeling under the blistering heat which has become a nuisance for everyone, especially the wild animals. As a result of this sultriness, small ponds and water sources in the forests are facing drought condition. Eventually, this has also become the reason for the death of many inhabited animals, which is a major concern for forest authorities.

On May 26, another incident of animal death due to excessive heat came into the limelight where 11 peacocks lost their lives in the forest of Bhilwara’s Raisinghpura, Rajasthan. Whereas, the other 2 peacocks got save who was found in unconsciousness. However, keeping the sternness of the incident into consideration, the forest authority decided to arrange sources of drinking water at different areas in order to avoid such loss in future.

In the month of March, 2 similar incidents reported. First one happened where a dehydrated Sambar was found partly unconscious on a hillock near Malad, Mumbai. Whereas, in the other incident a baby elephant died due to dehydration in Athagarh Forest, Odisha.

How Such Incidents Can Be Avoided

There are so many cases of animal death due to dehydration and heat strokes occurred in the recent past. Some came into lights while other not, but for the fact, the numbers are considerable and are likely to increase in the near future. Animals like Tigers and Lions are not the only ones for which the general people need to be alerted. Rather, animals like Deer, Elephants, and Rabbits should be given an equal attention, irrespective of their population. These are the prey base animals, and hence, they are an integral part of food chain. Their extinction could also result in the disappearance of animals who preys on them.

In order to avoid any such future losses, there should be a timely inspection carried out by forest officials to ascertain the water condition and availability along with tracking the wild animals. Apart from that, required steps should be taken to refill the water sources to maintain the safety of animals. Besides, we on our behalf should be well aware of wildlife conditions and affairs. Wherever you go for a wildlife safari, make sure to observe each and everything carefully, so thus, any uncommon or strange thing can be reported to the concerned authorities.

Nature isn’t in our hand, and thus, we cannot change it but, we can do things which are in our control. You never know, your little efforts can make big differences. Therefore, let’s take a pledge to conserve our wildlife afterall, we need them as much as they need us!

Photo Credit : Bhaskar Hindi