According to eyewitnesses, a few villagers, mostly youngsters chased the male herbivore for about 20 minutes until the animal died of shock.
According to forest department sources the incident happened near ‘Pannaikuppam Eri’ in Villupuram district. The curious villagers made several attempts to catch the animal, but the shock created during the chase affected the nervous system of the deer. The villagers noticing that the animal was breathless informed the district forest authorities and the wildlife officials on their arrival found the animal dead.
A senior wildlife official informed this newspaper that a post-mortem was carried on the deer the same day.
The autopsy report confirmed that the animal has sustained severe stress and trauma resulting in the collapse of the nervous system and renal failure.
The animal had lost its way from the adjacent reserve forest areas and was in search of a water body, the official added.
According to wildlife activists, the loss of deer habitat due to urbanisation and uncontrolled exploitation of reserve areas are the major reasons forcing the animals to stray into residential areas during which fatal human animal conflicts are becoming usual.
Spotted deer (axis) are extremely nervous animals and are always on the alert for a stalking predator. The spotted deer is the most commonly found deer species in India.