Bird worth Rs 20L dies 6 days after rescue

Krishnendu Mukherjee | TNN

Kolkata: A

hyacinth macaw

— the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species — that found a new home at

Alipore zoo

last Sunday after being rescued, along with 21 other birds, by officials of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (

DRI

) and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (

WCCB

) from the airport’s cargo terminal died at the zoo on Saturday morning.

Earlier in 2018, of the over 153 exotic birds seized by DRI and handed over to the zoo, more than 50, including species such as Turquoise Grass Parakeet, Gouldian Finch and Bird of Paradise, had died at the facility, leading to the agency’s seeking an inquiry report from the zoo.

Talking to TOI, member secretary of West Bengal Zoo Authority, V K Yadav, said that the bird died at the zoo on Saturday. “As far as I know, the bird was sick when it was handed over to us. We also informed the DRI officials to be present during the post-mortem,” he added.

A source said that apparently, the reason of death was natural and that the bird had not eaten anything for the past three days.

Deepankar Aron, additional director general of DRI’s Kolkata unit, said they have got the news. “We are doing a lot of hard work as far as curbing wildlife crime is concerned — it’s the fourth largest illegal trade in terms of volume across the globe. Sadly, trade in exotic species is also originating in India. So, there should be a holistic approach by all stakeholders to safeguard the future of these species,” Aron added.

A source said the DRI had on Friday sent a letter to Alipore zoo, seeking proper care and security of the 22 birds rescued last Sunday. A pair of hyacinth macaw is reportedly sold for as high as Rs 40 lakh.

Hyacinth macaw is a parrot native to central, eastern South America. With a length of about one meter, it is longer than any other species of parrot. Habitat loss and trapping of wild birds for pet trade have taken a toll on their population in the wild. It is classified as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN’s Red List and is protected by its listing on Appendix I of the CITES.

Among the other rescued birds were Pesquet’s parrot, yellow-collared macaw and chestnut-fronted macaw. The DRI officials are trying to trace the racket that was active in smuggling these birds. The consignment had been booked by two men on a domestic Air India flight from Kolkata to Bengaluru. After checking documents, the Air Intelligence Unit of Customs seized the birds.


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