Sambalpur: The forest department Tuesday started the translocation of 115 spotted deer from Sambalpur Zoo to Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Odisha’s Sambalpur district, an official said.
On Tuesday, 12 deer were shifted from the zoo to the sanctuary.
The animals were kept in a special enclosure where they would remain in quarantine for three to four weeks.
The animals will be released into the wild only after they become acclimatised to the natural habitat of Debrigarh, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Hirakud Wildlife Division, Anshu Pragyan Das, said.
The rest of the spotted deer will be translocated to the sanctuary in a phased manner. They would be shifted in batches (12-16 in each batch) during dawn and dusk, the official said.
The quarantine enclosure is 1.2 hectares in area, with Saltlick, water pool, treatment care unit, CCTV cameras, and black flash cameras inside the enclosure.
One emergency healthcare unit is also there, she said.
The translocation programme has been started to increase prey augmentation in the sanctuary.
Besides, there are excess spotted deer in Sambalpur Zoo due to which new animals cannot be introduced there, she said.
PTI