Feral dogs kill a blackbuck in IIT

CHENNAI: A pregnant Blackbuck, a near threatened species of antelope, was found dead with its innards torn apart by feral dogs in the woody campus of IIT Madras, pointing to a decline in forest cover for wild life conservation in Guindy.The carcass of the five-year-old black buck was spotted near the Saraswathi hostel ground on Monday and was later buried by the officials from the Department of Forest, sources told City Express.Though the black buck population is on a rise in the last five years at IIT, where their numbers is estimated at 25 now, predatory feral dogs are on the prowl inside the campus preying on the harmless animal.With the population of the dogs increasing multifold, killing of herbivorous such as spotted deer and black bucks has been on the rise in the IIT campus. Lone deer are normally cornered by a pack of dogs, which surround them and then attack them.The shrinking of the habitat for deer and antelopes inside the forest force the animals to stray into areas, where become vulnerable to dogs, a source said, citing that the construction of multi-storeyed buildings inside the campus as a reason for the shrinkage in wild life habitat. “Now, the deer virtually have no thickets for hiding their fawns or even themselves. As they move in to open areas, dogs on the prowl prey on them.”However, a forest department official dismissed the mauling of the black buck as a trivial issue. When contacted, a senior official in IIT said that he has not received any report in this regard.