Twenty-nine blackbucks at the Kittur Rani Chennamma Zoo died over the course of three days last week, prompting a massive investigation, zoo officials said on Sunday. The facility had a population of thirty-eight blackbucks, making the loss unprecedented for any zoo in the nation, according to senior forest officials.

According to Nagaraj Balhasuri, Belagavi's assistant forest conservator, several levels of investigation are currently in progress.
He added that viscera samples were sent to specialists at Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru to determine the precise cause of death. "We have sent the water and the food consumed by the deer to a government laboratory for testing." No zoo in India has ever reported such a large number of fatalities in such a short period of time, according to officials speaking on condition of anonymity.
The state administration has taken immediate notice of the deaths.
Eshwar Khandre, the minister of forests and ecology, instructed the agency to conduct a thorough investigation and put policies in place to stop any disease from spreading to other animals.

According to officials with knowledge of the situation, the minister ordered zoo management to take great care while awaiting laboratory findings because preliminary assessments suggest a potentially contagious infection.
According to officials, an expert committee will be established to investigate all potential reasons, such as tainted water, food sources, and transmission from domestic animals close to the plant. They stated that the committee is expected to present a thorough report with suggestions for averting future occurrences of this kind. If zoo employees are found to be negligent, the minister has threatened to take severe action.
The fatalities also raise questions about the zoo's general approach to animal care. An elderly tiger and an elderly lion had passed away just a few weeks prior, however authorities said those deaths were due to natural causes.Infrastructure and care mechanisms are still being strengthened at Bhutaramanahatti's little zoo, which has been gradually growing its collection by bringing in species from parks all around the nation.
The Kittur Rani Chennamma Zoo, which currently occupies fifteen hectares, has suggested expanding to a medium-sized zoo, which would need at least thirty-five hectares.
According to officials, if the Central Zoo Authority accepts the improvement, an extra twenty hectares of nearby forest space might be added.
There are currently 250 animals and birds in the zoo, including lions, tigers, crocodiles, and several kinds of deer and birds. The collection is anticipated to grow substantially after the renovation.

The current tiger safari will be expanded by an extra twenty hectares, and other species including giraffes, hippos, zebras, wild dogs, bison, ostriches, and more deer species will be added.
The establishment, which started out as a nature camp in 1989 and transformed into a miniature zoo in 2020, has drawn national notice for being the first zoo created under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.Under the direction of Range Forest Officer Pavan Kuraning, the zoo has undergone a number of upgrades recently, including the construction of a crocodile park, a reptile park, a three-dimensional exhibition, and a watchtower.
However, according to some involved, the unexpected deaths of almost all of the blackbuck herd constitute one of the zoo's biggest problems.