THUNDER BAY -- City of Thunder Bay officials say new homes have been found for five animals from the Chippewa Wildlife Exhibit.
But a sixth animal died, likely from an injury suffered during testing prior to transfer.
So far, a company that handles animal transportation has transferred four foxes and one bobcat to the Papanack Zoo in Ottawa.
The city says three elk and one deer were scheduled to be transferred elsewhere last week following precautionary TB testing.
But that is now on hold after the death of the deer.
"Unfortunately, the deer died from what is believed to be a physical injury during the first round of TB testing," said Cory Halvorsen, Manager of Parks and Open Spaces. "We were very sad to see this animal pass away. A veterinarian will be conducting a post-mortem to confirm this was the cause of death."
Two vets were on site to assess the animals' health prior to last week's testing, and all four were sedated, tested and recovered from the sedation.
Halvorsen told Tbnewswatch that the injury "was partially due to the unpredictable nature of testing wild animals."
TB testing requires two rounds of testing within 72 hours. Based on the risks observed during the first round of testing, and icy site conditions related to freezing rain last week, the second and final round of sedation was cancelled. The city says there are are no current plans to re-test those animals.
A total of 23 animals remain at Chippewa.
Halvorsen expects the process of relocating them will take a couple of months. In the meantime, trained staff will continue to care for them.
