Where Deer Live Among Students: What IIT Madras Can Teach Kashmir About Living With Wildlife
On a 661-acre campus next to Guindy National Park, spotted deer and blackbuck move through an academic environment shared by thousands of students and staff. For Kashmir, the experience offers lessons in coexistence.
Chennai: In most cities, a deer crossing a busy road would be an unusual sight. At the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, it is part of everyday campus life.
Inside the 661-acre campus, spotted deer move through lawns and open spaces while thousands of students, faculty members and staff go about their daily routines. A deer can be seen near a hostel, crossing a campus road or grazing close to academic buildings.
The animals are not kept away from campus life by high fences. Instead, students and wildlife share the same landscape, with restrictions and practices aimed at reducing human interference.
“In fact, humans have become part of their ecosystem and they have wholeheartedly accepted the intrusion,” a student told Kashmir Convener.
The experience offers an interesting contrast for Kashmir, where conservation of the Hangul, or Kashmir stag, remains a major challenge.
IIT Madras is located adjacent to Guindy National Park and describes its campus as an “ecological island” outside protected areas.
According to the institute, its green landscape supports around 300 species of trees and plants and about 35 species of fauna, including blackbuck. The campus also attracts a large variety of birds and butterflies.
Spotted deer are among the most visible animals on the campus. The blackbuck population has also increased significantly in recent years. IIT Madras has reported that its blackbuck population rose from 12 in 2021 to 77 in 2025.
Students said the presence of wildlife is not treated merely as an attraction for students and visitors but has been incorporated into aspects of campus management and development.
“One of the simplest measures is a speed restriction<” said an official. “Vehicles on the campus are limited to 20 kmph, reducing the risk of collisions with animals moving across roads and open spaces,” he said.
The campus also has a strong cycling culture. Students commonly use bicycles to travel between hostels, academic departments and other facilities. A large fleet of e-rickshaws also provides an alternative to conventional motor vehicles.
Students and visitors are discouraged from approaching or touching the animals. The objective is to prevent human interaction from disturbing wildlife or changing its natural behaviour.
“We want to keep their habitat natural as much as possible,” an IIT Madras official said.
Officials said the institute has also consciously retained substantial parts of its campus as green and ecological spaces. “Through its Prakriti initiative, IIT Madras documents the biodiversity found on the campus, including spotted deer and blackbuck, while conservation considerations are taken into account during campus development,” they added.
The institute has also sought to protect wildlife habitats and movement corridors while undertaking construction and other development activities.
For Kashmir, the IIT Madras experience raises a larger question: can urban and institutional spaces be designed in ways that allow wildlife to survive without constantly coming into conflict with people?
“The comparison is not about replicating the IIT Madras model in Kashmir. It is about examining the principles behind it—retaining natural spaces, controlling vehicle speeds, protecting animal movement routes and limiting unnecessary human interference,” Faisal Bukhari-a Kashmiri journalist who visited the campus on Monday told Kashmir Convener.
“We have not been able to implement such strict measures to conserve wildlife,” said Faisal Bukhari. He said the expansion of concrete structures at the cost of natural and fertile land had contributed to increasing human-animal interaction in Kashmir.
“The IIT Madras campus shows that the presence of wildlife does not necessarily have to mean keeping people and animals completely apart. With planning, habitat protection and simple restrictions on human behaviour, an educational institution can remain a functioning urban space while also providing room for wildlife,” he observed.
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