2 more zabras fall sick at Gazipur Safari Park

Members of the special medical board, formed to prevent the death of zebras and find out the mystery behind the lethal illnesses, has come together for an emergency meeting at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park after two more zebras fell ill earlier today.

The members of the medical board include - National Zoo Curator (retired) Dr ABM Shahidullah, Bangladesh Agricultural University (Mymensingh) Dr Professor Rafiqul Alam, Professor Abu Hadi Md Nur Ali Khan and Safari Park Veterinary Physician Hatem Sajjad Md. Zulkarnain. 

The director of the Central Veterinary Hospital Shafiul Ahad Sardar and Chief Scientific Officer of the Central Disease Research Laboratory Dr Golam Azam Chowdhury (Tulu) also joined the meeting as experts.

The Forest Department is set to take emergency actions according to the suggestions made by the medical board on Saturday.

Earlier, nine zebras, born inside the Gazipur Safari Park, mysteriously died in the past three weeks.

The zebras had died in the span of just three weeks – from 2 January to 24 January.

The exact cause of their deaths is yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, experts have made various recommendations to improve the park's habitat and avoid such untoward incidents in the future.

They said that the park has to be always kept clean and disinfected, vaccination drives for the animals have to be carried out regularly and the installation of a proper surveillance system to ensure the health and safety of the wild animals.

A five-member probe committee has been formed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change regarding this incident.