Forest officials rescue barking deer in Odisha's Ganjam

Forest personnel have rescued a two-month-old barking deer (Indian muntjac) from a house in Odisha's Ganjam district, an official said on Saturday.

The deer was rescued from Gunakhala, a remote village under Badagada forest range in Ganjam district's Ghumusar South forest division, on Friday afternoon.

They have also seized two country-made guns, a knife, and some explosives from the house, the official said.

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Acting on a tip-off, forest officials raided the house and rescued the deer fawn. The fawn was now under treatment at the veterinary hospital at Sorada. The animal would be released to a suitable habitat after it is stable, said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ghumusar South, Vipasha Parul.

The houseowner, however, managed to flee from the house at the time of the raid, the DFO said. Forest officials have intensified the search to nab the houseowner after registering a case against him under Wildlife Protection Act, she said.

The barking deer is listed and protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

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"We suspect the houseowner might be a wildlife poacher and use firearms and other materials to kill wild animals in the forest area," said the DFO.

Forest officials suspected the deer fawn, which was rescued, might have been caught by the accused from the nearby forest area to sell its skin and meat after it became an adult.

PTI