A Houbara bustard with a steel ring tag on its leg, believed to have migrated from Kazakhstan, was rescued in an injured state by a wildlife fanatic on the perimeter of Little Rann of Kutch in Patan district Tuesday and handed over to forest officers of Wild Ass Sanctuary in Dhrangadhra of Surendranagar district. The hen, nonetheless, died throughout therapy in Dhrangadhra Wednesday.
P S Thakker, a hen watcher, stated, “The bird was found on the fringe of LRK by a farmer, Bharat Jadeja, of Par village of Santalpur tehsil of Patan district. Jadeja informed a local bird lover, Kanubhai Rajgor, from Santalpur. Rajgor rushed the bird to Dhrangadhra wildlife range office for treatment and for its release in the wild after treatment.”
Injured #Houbara bustard, believed to have migrated from #Kazakhstan, rescued on the perimeter of Little Rann of Kutch. Unfortunately, the hen with a ringed leg dies throughout therapy. @IndianExpress @SpecificGujarat pic.twitter.com/DcqRTIHxqt
— parimal dabhi (@parimaldabhi) January 21, 2021
Thakker stated one of many legs of the hen was tagged with a steel ring that was inscribed with “M20K-IFHC.SKHB.KZ”. The tag additionally had phone numbers inscribed on it. “IFHC indicates International Fund for Houbara Conservation and SKHBC.KZ indicates Sheikh Khalifa Houbara Breeding Centre Kazakhstan,” Thakker stated.
Kazakhstan is likely one of the most essential areas for the way forward for the Asian Houbara as it’s house to 80 per cent of the wild breeding inhabitants. “Abu Dhabi has collaborated with Kazakhstan since 1994, conducting common field studies. This long-standing collaboration resulted in the establishment of the Sheikh Khalifa Houbara Breeding Centre-Kazakhstan in Shyann, near Shymkent, in the south of Kazakhstan. The bird may have avoided the mountain massifs of Hindukush, Pamir, Tianshan and Himalayas during migration,” he stated.
The hen can fly 220 km/day and journey greater than 75,000 km in a yr. Its inhabitants is estimated to be between 50,000 and 1 lakh on the planet.
According to Thakker, Houbara bustard is a susceptible species and there’s a decline in its world inhabitants. Pakistan has been a favorite vacation spot for Houbara bustard hunters the place authorities situation permits for searching the hen in Sindh province yearly.
Assistant Conservator of Forest at Wild Ass Sanctuary, Pragnesh Dave, stated, “The bird’s left wing was injured. It could have been trapped in some wire or fencing accidentally which could have caused the injury. It was under treatment but due to the trauma it was not eating anything and died today during treatment.”
“Post mortem revealed fatal traumatic injury as a cause of death. We have also sent its samples to laboratory to ascertain the possibility of bird flu,” Dave added.
The forest officers have additionally contacted Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) to formally verify the hen’s origin on the premise of its ringed leg.
