An Indian mouse deer, which was found in the Badlapur forest range with multiple pellet gun injuries, succumbed on Thursday, four days after it was brought to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for treatment. A mouse deer is a highly endangered and protected species. This is said to be the first incident of poaching in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

The deer was rescued by the team of the W.A.R.R. NGO from the Ambarnath-Badlapur forest on Sunday (August 22) and handed over to the forest department. The deer had survived a poaching attack, where it was targeted for bush meat. “The animal was brought to SGNP on Monday by officials from the Badlapur forest division. Veterinarian Dr Vinaya Jangle and her team provided initial treatment and planned to perform a surgery to remove the pellets,” said a forest department official.