KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 — In efforts to upgrade the Perdana Botanical Garden which was set up in the early 1980s here, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) plans to close down operations at the Deer Park, following damages to a number of trees.              

Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib said trees which were 50 years or older had died due to the action and habits of deer in the park.              

Ahmad Phesal said since the deer rub their horns against the tree trunks, it damages the barks of the trees which result in the death of trees.              

“That is why I have to make the decision to close down the Deer Park and shift the deer,” he told reporters at a seminar on the preservation of the Perdana Botanical Garden, here today.             

However, the phasing out of the deer would be done in stages, he said.              

He said the 52 deer from the park would be given away to universities to conduct studies and research purposes while the existing park would be turned into a “Centre for Rare Species Plant”. — Bernama