At least three wild animals on the IIT-Madras campus, which were running aimlessly after being frightened by high-decibel firecrackers, were hit by vehicles and injured. A blackbuck and a spotted deer were injured on Diwali day on Sunday, while a palm civet cat got injured the previous day.
The blackbuck was injured on its spine, the spotted deer on its hip, and the palm civet cat on its femur.The animals rushed out on to the road due to the loud noise created by the firecrackers and got hit by the vehicles, said Chennai Wildlife Warden E Prasant.
“The animals were rescued and taken to Besant Memorial Animal Hospital in Besant Nagar,” he added. This year, the bursting of firecrackers has increased inside the campus, says a resident who did not want to be identified. The Sangam ground, a blackbuck habitat, was found littered with wastepaper from spent fire crackers.
Wildlife officials said in the recent past, there have been no such incidents of wildlife getting injured while trying to look for cover. Wildlife enthusiasts say that restrictions should be brought to campuses such as IIT-M, where a good number of endangered wildlife (blackbuck) is found. Such areas should be declared ‘No Crackers Zone’.
Similarly, campuses such as CLRI in Adyar, Anna University, Theosophical Society Besant Nagar, and Madras Christian College should also be declared ‘no crackers zone’, as these campuses have wildlife populations, said T Murugavel, a wildlife conservationist. Merely declaring these campuses as no-cracker zones will not suffice. Wildlife officials in Chennai should monitor these places on Diwali day to avoid incidents of injuries to wildlife, he said.