Mortality in free range rescued wild animals of Shivalik Hills in Himachal Pradesh, India

The present study was conducted on 143 free range wild animals of 12 different species rescued from different locations in Shivalik Hills since Jan 2004 to June 2011. Mortality was reported in 79.02% (113) of rescued wild animals. Mortality in Herbivores, Carnivores, Pheasants and Omnivores was 84.74% (50), 79.06% (34) 72.72% (24) and 62.50% (05) respectively. Post mortem was conducted at field level to determine causes of mortality in all the 113 died wild animals. Necropsy findings revealed musculoskeletal injuries 68.14% (77), more specifically fractures 37.16% (42) and fatal trauma 30.97% (35) as most common cause of mortality in all the animals. On the other hand Cardiovascular and haemorrhagic shock constituted 11.50% (13) while septicemia were noted in 8.84% (10) of all the recorded causes of mortality in rescued animals. Mortality with other causes noticed in 11.50% cases is attributable to diagnosed causes including froathy bloat, tympany, intussusceptions, senility with associated lesions and unknown causes like infectious diseases or toxicosis without a clear symptomatology. The highest mortality was found in male herbivores 28.31% (32) followed by female carnivores 16.81% (19) and male pheasants 13.27% (15). Only 39.82% (45) mortality was observed in adult animals compared to juveniles 51.32% (58). Mortality in winter season 52.21 % (59) was higher than summer 33.62% (38) and rainy season 14.15% (16).