Oh Deer! ❤️ "Spotted and counted: 300-acre MCC campus has 90 deer" | MCC in Today's Times of India

In Today's Chennai Edition of Times of India

Spotted and counted: 300-acre MCC campus has 90 deer

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

When Madras Christian College (MCC) moved to Tambaram in 1937, the 300-acre campus was mostly arid land with some plants, shrubs and a few wild animals.

After 86 years, as the campus has turned green, the inhabitants here include spotted deer. A survey — the first scientific count — of spotted deer on the campus, conducted by the faculty and students of the MCC zoology department, puts their population on the campus between 80 and 90.

Researchers say the spotted deer could have migrated from nearby Vandalur forest during the 1950s or 1960s.

The study teams split the campus into five zones and employed three methods — direct survey, trail camera and spotlight meth-od. “Rich vegetation and no threat of predators could have been the reasons for the thriving deer population on the campus,” said Anita Pearline Esther, a faculty member who was part of the survey.

The population consists of adult males, adult females, sub-adults, fawns, and a few alpha males. The average life span of a spotted deer is nine to 13 years. These deer have got used to the sounds and lights of the campus, that they feel at home in the teeming premises.

Zoology department head C Joyce Priyakumari said the campus is a veritable jungle. “The scrub jungle is a safe shelter for many animals including snakes, birds, porcupines, toddy cats, and bats,” she said.

MCC principal Paul Wilson said such surveys help conservation. “We are funding the survey for the faculty members to scientifically document wild animals within our campus and protect them,” said the principal. 

Many MCC students have joined the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun and several of them have participated in wildlife surveys.