World | India
Bid to shift monitor lizards, jackals from New Delhi airport area
Airport authorities here launched an operation on Tuesday to capture some animals and birds that took refuge on a runway after heavy rains lashed the city on Monday interrupting its operations for nearly an hour.
- IANS
- Published: 23:53 June 17, 2008
New Delhi: Airport authorities here launched an operation on Tuesday to capture some animals and birds that took refuge on a runway after heavy rains lashed the city on Monday interrupting its operations for nearly an hour.
The animals included monitor lizards and jackals.
The captured animals will be moved to a wildlife sanctuary.
Authorities at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) sought the help of NGO Wildlife SOS to help in the relocation.
"We could capture five monitor lizards from the airport. They are being rehabilitated to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary," said Wildlife SOS co-founder Kartick Satyanarayan. "No other animal was caught [on Monday]."
The sanctuary is along the boundary between South Delhi and Haryana.
Heavy rain
He said that his organisation's team was at the airport and was having removed wild growth and debris that attract these animals - especially when there is heavy rain - from the sprawling land.
The operations on the secondary runway were stopped for over an hour on Monday when a pilot spotted some monitor lizards straying onto it.
Only the main runway was used, as a result of which some 20-25 flights were delayed, officials said.
The Wildlife SOS co-founder said finding such wild animals inside the airport premises was not unique to Delhi. "Many airports across the world face such a problem.
"We are working out a strategy to minimise the threat it poses to air passengers and aircraft. There are small openings around the airport fencing," he said. "These have to be closed."
"During monsoon and heavy rains birds and animals tend to come out of their shelters," said Arun Arora, the spokesman for the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which manages the terminal.
"We have a dedicated professional team to control the bird and animal activity to enhance operational safety," he added.
According to Wildlife SOS activists, six jackals, two feral cats and 10 stray dogs were captured from the airport area in December 2006. The jackals were put under quarantine, treated by a veterinarian and then released.
The organisation last year helped relocate 52 blue bulls from the airport area to the Asola sanctuary.
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