CHENNAI: A squirrel monkey, member of an exotic species, disappeared from its enclosure at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur a couple of days ago, the authorities have said. This follows the death of a leopard due to malfunctioning of a squeeze cage, death of a Himalayan black bear during treatment and deaths of a dozen ostriches.
While zoo managers have lodged a complaint with the Otteri police under the newly formed Tambaram commissionerate, experts said the recent incidents point to the poor management and lack of security on the zoo premises.
An official said the squirrel monkey was handed over to the zoo a couple of years ago by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence after it was seized from the air cargo complex at Meenambakkam along with several exotic birds.
Zoo deputy director R Kanchana said the enclosure containing the exotic monkey species was at a tri-junction not covered by a closed circuit television (CCTV) network. “We suspect the hand of some exotic pet trader in the theft.”
A third party auditing of animals in the zoo and comparing it with the inventory maintained at the zoo was needed to establish the number of species in the zoo, a source said. The quality of feed supplied to animals and medicines used for their treatment also had to be checked, he added.
State chief wildlife warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj said they wanted to do auditing of animals and compare it with the zoo inventory. “Only then a real picture will emerge about the number of animals in the zoo. Repairing the animal cages is the next important thing. Maintaining a list of animal deaths is the priority.”
The source added that several star tortoise seized at Chennai airport and handed over to the zoo authorities had been smuggled out.
“It was with the hope that the smuggled tortoises would be rehabilitated that they were handed over to the wildlife authorities,” the source said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/squirrel-monkey-missing-from-zoo/articleshow/89489327.cms
