Hog deer caught in Ravi

www.dawn.com
Friday, 26 Jun, 2009

LAHORE: The Parks and Horticulture Authority staff claims to have caught a Kashmir Stag whereas a PHA and Wildlife task forcemember says the animal found along the Ravi is a hog deer.

According to PHA spokesman Javed Sheda, the stag was spotted while swimming in the Ravi perhaps coming from India. ‘Officials manning the PHA boats in the Ravi somehow got hold of the animal and informed their seniors who decided to keep it at Gulshan-i-Iqbal where the PHA already has over 30 hog deer,’ he added.

A member of chief minister’s task force on wildlife and PHA, Tauqeer Shah, told Dawn a hog deer was caught from the Ravi. ‘The moment I came to know that a hog deer was caught, I directed the PHA staff to shift it to Gulshan-i-Iqbal where we have adequate space to keep such animals.

‘There is a great difference between a hog deer and a stag. Hog deer has horns that are one to one-and-a-half feet long whereas Kashmir Stag has five to six feet long horns. Kashmir stag is much bigger than the hog deer,’ he said.

Asked why the deer was not handed over to the Lahore Zoo, Mr Shah said since the deer seems to be a wild animal and the zoo has small cages, it would have been a cruel thing to do so.

‘It is very difficult to keep wild animals in small cages. Wild animals start hitting their head against iron rods of cages and get themselves injured. Most of the time such injuries prove to be fatal. At Gulshan-i-Iqbal, we have spacious area to accommodate the deer,’ added Mr Shah.

A hog deer costs around Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 and its natural age is around 16 years. It is found both in Pakistan and India. In Pakistan it is found in ‘bela’ along the border and its habitat is spread up to Kashmir foothills. — Staff Reporter

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