Malappuram: Out of the 89 waterfowl and little cormorant hatchlings, that were rescued by forest department personnel after branches of a tree near the village office in Alamkod were indiscriminately cut down, only three are alive now.
Though the rescued birds were first taken to the Thrissur Zoo and later to the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, citing a High Court order issued in the past in a similar case, the authorities there refused to take their custody. The three hatchlings, that are currently housed at the forest station in Karuvarakundu near Kalikavu, are being taken care by watchers attached to the forest station under the supervision of the forest veterinary surgeon.
As many as 86 birds rescued from the spot died one after another due to lack of adequate rehabilitation facilities. The case filed by the Forest Department against the zoo authorities will be taken up for hearing the next day. It is to be seen whether the three birds, that include two little cormorant babies and one waterfowl hatchling, would be able to survive until the court passes it judgement on the matter.
The branches were lopped on September 8 on the pretext that noise and excreta of birds were a nuisance to both the staff at the village office and the general public. As the incident took place in the middle of their reproduction season, over a hundred hatchlings died and large number of eggs were destroyed.
The next day, forest officials visited the spot and took custody of the birds that survived the mindless action. As August 10 was a hartal day, they could not shift the birds to a safer place. The birds were transported to the Thrissur Zoo the next day, but the zoo authorities refused take them in claiming that there was a high chance of them having infectious diseases.
However, examinations at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences proved that they were healthy and devoid of any illness. The move to provide shelter to the birds at the college also did not succeed due to the inadequate facilities for the care and management of the birds.
Though the authorities waited till the evening for the heat to subside, 51 little cormorants and three waterfowl died of exhaustion and dehydration by 7 pm, while the rest of the birds too succumbed to the heat within the next few hours.
The three hatchlings are now surviving on freshwater fish provided by the forest watchers.
