A male spotted deer was found dead within the University of Hyderabad campus on December 18. The remains of the animal were found near an under-construction site of the SN School on the campus. It is suspected that the spotted deer was attacked by feral dogs.
PhD scholar and wildlife activist Rohit Bondugula said that excessive deforestation is leading to loss of habitat for wildlife within the campus. This forces the animals to come on to open areas where they fall prey to feral dog attacks and poaching, he said.
Rohit alleged that the forest department and university authorities have failed in protecting these innocent animals. "We have witnessed several deaths of spotted deer, peafowl, wild boars, wild hares, monitor lizards, mongoose etc within the campus in recent times," said Rohit, while demanding measures to control the growing population of dogs within the campus. The activist said there was a need to sterilise the stray dogs and raise the height of the boundary walls to prevent feral dogs from outside from entering the campus.
"For the past few years, the university is witnessing a huge amount of deforestation activities frequently at some corner of the campus every day. We lost a majority of the green cover and whatever the little bit remaining, we need to save it. Nature doesn't require us, we require nature," he said.
Rohit called for constituting a Biodiversity Committee within the UoH, comprising faculty, students and non-teaching staff to safeguard the campus. Construction and expansion activities in the campus should be taken up only after approval by this committee, he expressed.
The activist said that he had earlier voiced concern over the threat to the biodiversity on the campus due to a series of fire accidents. Many wild animals are believed to have perished in two fires in May. The campus witnesses 6-7 instances of fire every year.