Authorities at the Delhi Zoo are facing scrutiny after a jackal who had escaped from the enclosure at the National Zoological Park in Delhi last November, was killed instead of following required containment
procedures, with officials revealing that crucial CCTV footage of the incident is missing.
The absence of the video has raised questions about security and surveillance protocols at the facility, as zoo authorities launched an inquiry into the tragic incident.
Since December 5, at least 12 days of CCTV camera footage from key locations at the National Zoological Park in Delhi, including the Himalayan black bear enclosure – the area a jackal allegedly entered after it escaped from its own enclosure – are unavailable.
The National Zoo Workers Union has alleged that it was during this time that a ranger allegedly killed the jackal “by burning it alive inside the bear’s burrow”.
A technical report submitted to the Joint Director of the zoo, who is leading the investigation, stated that several cameras, including those monitoring the enclosure where the jackal reportedly entered an underground burrow—had gone offline due to a “hard disk failure.”
This follows the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s decision on Thursday to remove the ranger, who held additional charge of Ranges I and II and was reportedly involved in the operation to capture the jackal.
According to an order, the officer will now officiate as the zoo curator. While the animal veterinary officer (contractual) has been given additional charge of Range I, the security supervisor will have the additional charge of Range II until the inquiry is completed.
The technical report stated that from the morning of December 5, “due to failure of lighting operations, many cameras did not function and were completely switched off,” and that the footage could not be recovered because of “rewinding technical issues,” the Indian Express reported.
It added that at least 32 pan-tilt-zoom cameras remained non-functional until December 16. The zoo has 465 cameras, including dome and fixed cameras.
A senior zoo official said such failures were “against protocol” and should have been immediately rectified once detected.
The union, in a letter to the ministry earlier this week, sought directions to preserve all CCTV footage from December 14 to 20, calling it “vital electronic evidence”.
Another internal report, reviewing the available footage of the Himalayan black bear enclosure, noted that no jackal was observed there between December 16 and 18.
