Migratory birds being poached in Bangalore water bodies

 

Here is a report from my friend, Uma K, who was participating in the Bangalore Bird Race, along with other members of her team:

 At around 11 a.m. on Bird Race Day, Team Rosefinch (Suma Rao, Gayathri Naik, Garima Bhatia, Jainy Maria and I) was birding at Karenahalli kere, one of the lakes off Kanakapura Road, just past Somanahalli. Our attention was focussed on a flock of about 30-35 lesser whistling teals, when we heard a gunshot, and the entire flock took to the air. Right across the lake from us, we could see a lone injured duck flapping desperately in an attempt to fly. The shooter came out from behind the reeds where he had been hiding, took the duck by its neck, and walked out. After hanging around there for a while, he and his companions left.

Soon after we heard the gunshot, I called up Rajesh, who is a wildlife rescue volunteer for BBMP from Malleswaram. He contacted Sanjeev (volunteer from South Bangalore who is cced on this mail), who in turn tried to get the local law enforcement to make it to the lake before the killer left. We waited for some time, and then headed out to Nelligudda kere, where once again, we heard a gunshot, and saw a large flock of lesser whistling teals take off. But we were too far away to see the shooter or to make out if any duck had been killed.

If you would like to see  some pics taken by Garima Bhatia

 

click here

If any of you come across any such incident, please call Sharath at 9880108801. Sharath is the Honorary Wildlife Warden for BBMP.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Nature Feature: A dinner invitation

"Will you walk into my parlour?" Said the spider to the fly. "I've spread a carpet of silk and diamonds! Walk in, and don't be shy! Do come along, for I grow thinner... I've LOVE to have you, ahem, for dinner!" Jokes apart, Funnel Web Spiders also called Wolf Spiders, are named because of the funnel-like web they weave...and the second name is given because they are ferocious predators. They build a flat sheet of nonsticky web with a funnel-shaped retreat to one side or occasionally in the middle, depending on the situation and species. The typical hunting mode is…

Similar Story

Theatre Review: “Credit Titles” by Bangalore Little Theatre

It was like a rare alignment of the planets: several factors come together to pull me out of my usual Ranga Shankara ambit for watching a play. I had not been to visit Bangalore International Centre, which opened a while ago in Domlur; Bangalore Little Theatre, as part of their "VP 80" festival, was staging "Credit Titles"; the play, written by Vijay Padaki, whose 80th birthday the festival marks, was based on a story by Vinod Vyasulu, an eminent economist whom I've known for a long time, as our daughters share a cose friendship dating from 1988. And last but…