Deadly manja couldn’t clip Shree’s wings!

AHMEDABAD: When a female white-rumped vulture got injured by the deadly manja and fell into the water tank of a mall during the 2010 Uttarayan, activists thought it would not survive. The highly endangered bird had almost drowned and the glass-laced thread had badly cut one of its wings. But not only has ‘Shree’, as it was christened by her rescuers, survived, she is riding the winds once again.
Volunteers of Shree Cultural Foundation, who rescued the bird, will celebrate her success by cutting a cake right below the tree on MG Science College campus where the bird has built her nest. Shree is raising her 15-day chick here, two years after she escaped death.
Thanks to rapid urbanization, vulture population in Ahmedabad has seen a drastic drop in the last five years. A 2010 census by the forest department showed there are just 88 white rumped vultures left in the city. Of these, 13 vultures were injured by manja during the 2012 Uttarayan.
Wildlife activist Mukesh Bhati recalls that the bird was treated by the forest department after its rescue. Jaymin Patel, member of Manimals for Animals, a group of wildlife enthusiasts, procured a special identification ring for Shree from Bombay Natural History Society and then released it once it recovered. “In 2011, it was traced to Viramgam and it flew back to Ahmedabad in 2012 to find a mate after which she nested on a tree,” said Patel. “Just a fortnight ago the egg hatched. We’ve purposefully chosen Uttarayan to celebrate the birth as a way of sending a message to help save birds,” said Bhati.
Superintendent of the Kamala Nehru Zoological Park in Ahmedabad R K Sahu hailed Shree’s success story but stressed on the need for a more scientific approach to bird-handling. “I share the joy of bird lovers in Shree’s case, but love, affection and enthusiasm are different from the scientific conservation of the bird,” he says.
“Tagging or ringing a bird should always be scientific. Often, bird rescuers use electric wire for ringing the bird. If it gets entangled, it can injure or even kill the bird. Tags and rings are available with the forest department, zoo authority or government agencies. The rescuers should make it a point to procure it from the right source.”