Post News Network
Khurda: Eight days after 20 peacocks and some other birds were found dead at Mandual in Madhupur forests under Khurda forest range, carcasses of three more peacocks were recovered from the same forest area Wednesday.
The fresh deaths of the peacocks came close on the heels of a report issued by the Bhopal-based National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) ruling out avian influenza as the cause of the mass death of the national birds. With these new cases, the death toll of peacocks in Orissa in the last eight days rose to 26.
Regional chief conservator of forest (RCCF) Anup Nayak, Chandaka-Dampara divisional forest officer (DFO) Manoj Mahapatra and Khurda ranger Dilip Rout reached the forest and recovered the carcasses Wednesday. While the decomposed carcass of a peacock was recovered from Mandual forest, the two other carcasses were found in a paddy field nearby.
Forest and veterinary officials began had been keeping a close watch on the forest area after the first wave of mass deaths of peacocks. The officials had Tuesday rescued an ailing peacock near a poultry farm at Kumarbasta, which later died at Ketakiswari Central Nursery in Khurda. This death had prompted a search in the forest area Tuesday and Wednesday. While Tuesday’s search yielded no dead peacock, the three carcasses were found Wednesday, said forest officials, who filled up the place from where the carcasses were found to eliminate risks of contagion. Two ailing peacocks rescued from Haldia wildlife range during the search had died later.
“We’ve sent the carcass of the ailing peacock which died at Ketakiswari Central Nursery to OUAT for post-mortem. Three more carcasses recovered from the forest area were also sent to OUAT for post-mortem,” said Khurda forest ranger Dilip Rout.
