Hyderabad: The Sankranti festival this year turned out to be more lethal than usual for birds in the city, with rescue teams reporting manja injuries to nearly 100 birds in a single day — many of them rare, endangered and near-threatened species.
Animal rescuers said these species are not typically seen during festival-related drives.Among those rescued was a Peregrine falcon, a migratory raptor rarely spotted in the region. Conservationists also treated two Black-headed Ibis (an endangered species), some Indian Rollers (recently moved to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s near-threatened list), and a few River Terns (another species listed as near-threatened). Activists also underlined how the official injury count only includes those that were rescued. “The actual number of injured birds is likely to be much higher, as many cases go unreported or are discovered too late,” said Pradeep Parakuth from Animal Warriors Conservation Society. He said that many peahens and green bee-eaters, species not usually injured by manja, were also rescued this year. “They are recovering well in our shelter home,” he added explaining how they are not usually injured as they fly low or stay closer to the ground and vegetation, away from typical kite-flying zones. Their injuries this year suggest a wider spread and higher density of manja both in the air and dangling from rooftops and trees, bringing even low-flying birds into danger.“Most of the birds sustained severe injuries, including deep feather cuts leading to free falls, wounds to the leg and neck, and entanglement-related trauma,” said Dr Sindhura Pothineni, a bird fosterer from the city. “Of the four birds came in on Thursday, one died on the way while three are with me now.
These included pigeons and doves. One may not be able to fly again, while two are expected to recover,” she added.Rescuers said that of the total birds they attended to, around 25% to 30% succumbed to their injuries while 10% to 15% were treated and released on the spot. The remaining are undergoing treatment at various shelters.Animal rights activists also highlighted how most of the injuries due to Chinese manja. “Though there was an overall drop in use of Chinese manja due to police crackdown, injuries caused by the manja remained high.
“We rescued 58 birds of which 47 were injured by Chinese nylon manja, while 10 birds were injured by cotton glass-coated manja. One pigeon was injured by a normal cotton thread,” said Soudharm Bhandari, from Greater Hyderabad Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
His group rescued an Indian parrot this year along with a high number of pigeons, doves, eagles, crows, mynas, green bee-eaters and owls.Cases of human injuries, however, remained scarce on Sankranti day.
Doctors said they treated minor cuts, abrasions and skin rashes, with no severe injuries recorded anywhere from the city.Forest department officials said they will remain on high alert over the next few days as Sankranti celebrations continue through the weekend. “Our team is still on the ground. We did not come across any major cases on the day of the festival. But, we are still patrolling kite markets and conducting awareness drives among citizens to discourage the use of Chinese manja,” an official said.
