A spotted deer was rescued by personnel of the Fire and Rescue Services Department from an open well, in Kotturpuram on Saturday.
The call was received by the 101 fire control room at 6.45 a.m. Fire personnel who rushed to the spot said that the deer’s head was above the water and it was constantly trying to jump out but could not. “It looked like the deer was grazing near the well and had fallen into the water. It was not a very deep well. We handed over the deer to the officials of the Forest Department and Blue Cross of India,” said a source.
Sources in the department said that this was the second call in two months from the Kotturpuram area involving the rescue of a deer. “Last time, the animal was stuck in slush near the Adyar River,” said the source.
Dawn Williams, general manager, Blue Cross of India, said that the deer only had minor scratches. The animal, he said, was handed over to a wildlife veterinarian. “In the last month, Blue Cross of India rescued 23 animals including cats, dogs and snakes from wells. This month alone, six animals have been rescued. Special skills are required to rescue wild animals,” he said.
Kotturpuram residents said that deer were regularly spotted in the area and that there had been instances of the animals dying of snake and dog bites. Amudha, a cook in the area, said that she had seen a fawn die of snake bite.