File photo of a Sangai deer.
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: A female Sangai deer died at the Delhi zoo after sustaining injuries on Saturday morning, with a senior official describing the incident as "unusual and accidental".
The deer is estimated to be aged between two and three.
A nilgai (blue bull) was also injured, the officials said.
Zoo Director Sanjeet Kumar said, "The death of the female deer was unusual and accidental."
On the incident involving the nilgai, he said that dominant males had already been separated.
Sources at the zoo attributed the death to mismanagement.
A source said that during the estrus period, hormonal changes in animals often lead to increased tension and aggression.
Deer have not been segregated yet, the source said.
On January 2, a one-horned rhinoceros named Dharmendra brought from the Assam zoo as part of an animal exchange programme died under "mysterious circumstances" at the Delhi zoo.
On December 28, a nine-month-old white tiger cub succumbed to "traumatic shock and acute pneumonia".
The Delhi zoo houses more than 90 different species. It is home to over 1,000 birds and animals including leopards, lions, wolves, Asiatic elephants and chinkaras.