150 peacocks found dead within 10 days in Pali
More than 150 peacocks have reportedly died in four villages of Pali district in the last 10 days.
In view of the bird flu scare, the district administration has sent visceral remains of the dead peacocks to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal for testing, said Anshdeep, the district collector, who uses only single name.
Peacock deaths have been taking place in the villages of Kalali, Bhakhariwala Bishnoiyon Ki Dhani, Sawalta Kalan and Sawalta Khurd in Pali district.
Sunil Bishnoi, vice-president of Bishnoi Tiger Force, which works for wildlife conservation, claimed that more than 150 peacocks have died so far and about 50 peacocks have been taken to the Machia Biological Park in Jodhpur after the rescue.
Anshdeep, who visited the villages where the most peacocks were found dead, said, “Initial cases were reported to have resulted in unusual deaths of peacocks due to heatstroke, but later in some cases foam was seen in the mouths of dead peacocks. In view of the risk of bird flu, the viscera of dead peacocks have been sent to the NIHSAD lab. The real cause will be known only after receiving the report. The lockdown is in effect due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the villages, so there is not much danger to the human population.” He added, “So far, we are aware of the death of more than 50 peacocks. Livestock and wildlife are constantly being monitored in the villages. The forest department and veterinarians are also keeping an eye on the affected villages.”
Acting district forest officer Jaydev Charan said that in the initial cases, a three-member veterinary team had done a postmortem of the dead peacocks, but the real cause of death would be known only after the Bhopal lab report.
He said that feral and unmanaged dogs are also becoming a major threat to peacocks. Dogs have attacked peacocks falling on the ground in an unconscious state from the tree, on the information of which the dogs are being released elsewhere.
Mahendra Gehlot, a member of the rescue team at Machia Biological Park, said that 46 peacocks have been brought in unconscious state to the rescue center in the last 10 days, out of which 10 peacocks died on the way. “Many peacocks did not survive even during treatment at the centre. Currently, only 22 peacocks have survived. It is likely that toxic food may have an effect on peacocks, but testing is necessary to identify toxicity,” he said.