Mumbai: In a tragic incident, as many as 14 peacocks and 35 rare birds, including 15 partridges, were on Monday found dead under mysterious circumstances at Khatgaon village in Aurangabad district in Maharashtra.
The authorities have not established the exact reason for the sudden and simultaneous death of the birds, They prima facie suspect that these birds, including peacocks, might have died after consuming pesticide-mixed food grains strewn on agriculture fields.
Following the development, the forest officials rushed to the Khatgaon village and began questioning the people on the circumstances leading to the death of so many peacocks and other birds. The authorities have sent the carcasses of the birds for a post-mortem.
“It is only after the post-mortem that we will be able to pinpoint the reason for the death of peacocks and other birds,” a senior state forest official based in Aurangabad said.
The peacock is the national bird of India. It is fully protected under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The poaching or hunting of peacocks is banned in the country.
Though the killing of peacocks is prohibited in India, there have been instances, where the birds were killed using pesticide for the collection of the lovely tail feathers.
The simultaneous death of so many peacocks is bound to shock bird lovers across Maharashtra, where there was a similar incidence of peacock deaths nearly five years ago.
In August and early September, 2008, as many as 30 peafowls — 17 peahen and 13 peacocks — had been found dead under mysterious circumstances in a span of a week at Khedkar Vasti near Ranjangaon in Pune district.
Khedkar Vasti is close to Morachi Chincholi village, famous for prevalence of peacocks.
At that time, the clinical examination of viscera of peafowls had revealed that these birds had died after consuming poisonous pesticide sprayed on the poultry.
