Eight new arrivals have joined the family of spotted deer at the Ramsagar mini zoo in Dinajpur.

Visitors are crowding in to see the eight fawns born during the winter and the coronavirus period. In the sunshine, mother deer can be seen suckling their young, a sight that catches visitors' eyes. Many deer run up to the barricade when called with nuts or something to eat, though they run away if anyone makes a noise.

Momtaz Begum, a visitor and Dinajpur's deputy director of family planning, said the waters of historic Ramsagar and the spotted deer draw visitors. "Everyone who comes to Ramsagar comes to the deer at least once. Hearing there were new arrivals in the deer family, I brought my family and grandchildren to show them the deer and fawns," she said.

Sneha, a class two student, said: "I have come to visit Ramsagar. Today I am seeing the deer. They are very beautiful, they are coming close to me and I like it very much."

Zahurul Islam, who looks after the deer, said spotted deer love water lily leaves, leaves of various trees, grass, and grain feed including nuts and chickpeas. Visitors are delighted with the new arrivals and crowd in to see the fawns.

Sadekur Rahman, custodian of Dinajpur's Ramsagar National Park and forest beat officer, said six spotted deer were brought to the park's mini zoo by the government on 12 August 1992. Through breeding the herd grew to 54 adults, and with eight does giving birth at various times in December and January, the herd now stands at 62.

He said the growing number of deer has increased the need for food, so an adequate food budget must arrive on time. The deer are fed chickpeas, chakkar, creepers and leaves.

Besides spotted deer, the Ramsagar zoo has monkeys, langurs, peacocks, a python and various species of owl.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.