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Four inmates of Lucknow zoo die in a week

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

The death of four inmates of the Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens in Lucknow in the past one week has sent alarm bells ringing across the state's wild life department.

It began with the death of a Japanese monkey last Monday, followed by that of a black buck, a stag and a king-sized squirrel on Wednesday. While the money was stated to have suffered a 'paralytic stroke', the death of the giant squirrel was attributed to some 'gastro-intestinal ailment'. One more squirrel, which is found in south India, remains.

The black buck was stated to have met its end in a fight with its male companion. The Lucknow zoo has a stock of 27 black bucks.

An old male stag died following 'illness'.

Says the zoo's director, "Deer and black bucks usually turn very aggressive during the mating season. The male buck pierced its horn into the belly of a pregnant buck, injuring it seriously. Our efforts could not save the animal."

While zoo authorities claim to be taking 'proper care' of the inmates, there were reports that 'sub-standard' food was being given to the animals.

Earlier, a lion and a tiger had died on account of some infection. Contaminated meat is suspected to be the source of the infection.

The authorities attributed the poor living conditions of the animals in the zoo, one of the oldest zoological parks in the country, to 'acute paucity of funds'.

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