NAGPUR: Death of 37 birds in
Sakhri Ghat in Gondia
has been shrouded in mystery with experts debating the
birds dying of water or food poisoning
.
The area where the birds were found dead falls between
Khamtalao and Shenda
in both territorial and FDCM forest areas and is 30km from Gondia.
The dead birds were first noticed on May 19, by Anil Kumar Nair, project coordinator with
Wildlife Trust of India
(WTI), Goregaon.
Nair suspects the birds allegedly died after inhaling carbon monoxide due to sudden combustion following forest fires perhaps ignited for tendu patta.
“We found the dead birds in 500 metre radius. It is not the
case of water poisoning
as being feared. Other animals including birds and herbivores quenched their thirst at a waterhole near the same spot and were absolutely normal,” said Nair.
The list of dead birds included 9 white bellied drongo, 2 rufous treepie, 9 black-naped monarch, 2 greater racket tail drongo, 2 white-throated kingfisher, 6 Indian scops owls, and 1 each common hawk cuckoo, jungle babbler, oriental magpie robin, ashy drongo, shama, red-vented bulbul, and jungle owlet.
Nair said the area was a good bird habitat. There is a temple in the forest area where there is a bore-well. Even as these birds died, other species were drinking water near the waterhole near the temple. “None of the bird was killed by predators. Only one bird was charred in forest fire,” Nair said.
Earlier, it was suspected that the birds might have died due to sunstroke. However, bird lover Amol Jadav says, “It is not possible that so many birds die due to sunstroke or forest fires. These species fly away to cooler places in case of danger. It might be due to suffocation or poisoning.”
Sanjay Karkare, assistant director with Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and bird researcher Nandkishore Dudhe too feared it was a case of water poisoning.
However, Jadhav says only post-mortem could have thrown light on exact cause of death. “But when there is least concern for big mammals in such areas, where do birds find place?”
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