NEW DELHI: The National Zoological Park has welcomed 26 fawns in the past four months, taking the population of the 97 species at the zoo to 1,236. The new fawns include three Indian Hog deer, three spotted deer, two barking deer, 16 black bucks and one each Sangai and Sambar deer and Indian Gazelle (chinkara). Of these, the Indian hog and sangai have been categorised as endangered species as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Dharamdeo Rai, director, National Zoological Park, said, “Though the breeding of deer generally takes place throughout the year, it mostly happens before the monsoon so that the mother has enough green to feed. However, survival is tough during the winter season.” Delhi Zoo officials said they have taken several steps to provide a natural environment to animals, which has resulted in successful breeding. “In the wild, animals roam around in search of food and hence, instead of serving them food platters, we hang a bunch of greens so that they can jump to grab them,” said Rai. He added that as herbivores in the zoo prefer to take rest during the afternoon, they are given food in early morning and evening hours. Measures have been taken for proper water supply and shade as well to ensure the animals’ comfort. The birth of the new fawns has taken the total population of Indian Hog deer to 40, sambar deer to 18, spotted deer to 40, sangai deer to 56, barking deer to 95, black buck to 106, swamp deer to 10, sika deer to 1, whitebuck to 36 and Indian Gazelle to four at the zoo. Meanwhile, the footfall at Delhi Zoo has been considerably high in the past six months, with nearly 11,000-13,000 visitors on the weekends. After the zoo reopened on March 1 following the Covid break, the number of daily visitors was initially limited to about 4,000 people. However, the cap on the number of daily visitors was removed in June. In 2020, the zoo remained closed for visitors for over a year due to the pandemic and bird flu cases. It was briefly reopened on April 1, 2021 but shut down again due to the second wave. After reopening in August last year, it was closed yet again earlier this year. Finally on March 1 this year, National Zoological Park again opened its doors to the public.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/26-new-fawns-to-greet-visitors-at-delhi-zoo/articleshow/94287900.cms