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This is an archive article published on March 13, 2009

Endangered antelope rescued in Ulhasnagar

In what may be an outcome of the diminishing forest cover in the city,a group of animal lovers last week rescued an injured four-horned antelope...

In what may be an outcome of the diminishing forest cover in the city,a group of animal lovers last week rescued an injured four-horned antelope at a busy street of Ulhasnagar and brought it to the Bombay Society of Prevention against Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) for treatment. The antelope,commonly referred to as the chausingha,is an endangered and Schedule-I animal according to the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

According to BSPCA secretary Lt Col (retd) J C Khanna,the animal was brought to the hospital by a Thane-based social service organisation Swami Dharamdas Darbar Trust in a traumatised condition. “The animal’s right limb was broken and hanging by a skin. It was in great pain,its wound was chronic and required immediate attention.”

Dr Yuvraj Kaginkar,hospital manager,stated that the antelope had an open fracture in its right forelimb (carpal joint),which had developed dead tissues (necrotic tissues) and also had a ligament damage. “For one week,we tried to treat the animal with antibiotics and join its bones without surgery,but now it seems we’ll have to amputate its limb,” he said. However,the antelope’s condition is stable and will survive,he stated.

Hospital officials suspect that the antelope would have lost its way and strayed away from the Yeoor forest and entered the urban areas. Kaginkar pointed out,“Such cases are becoming frequent in the city,because extended deforestation and exploitation of natural resources are taking over the wildlife habitat.” He added that the antelope cannot be rehabilitated into the wild,because of its disability. “The animal has lost one leg and so would become an easy prey to predator animals,” he explained. The antelope,about one-and-a-half feet in height,could be about two years of age,he stated.

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