• Death brings back memories of Bird Flu scare 
• Forest Dept. collects samples

Mysuru:  The death of a Spot-Billed Pelican at Kukkarahalli Lake yesterday has worried bird- lovers of city and they have demanded a thorough probe to find out the exact cause for the bird’s death. 

Citing past incidents of Bird Flu that rocked Mysuru Zoo, bird-lovers have urged the authorities to take preventive measures before an outbreak. 

There was a Bird Flu (Avian Influenza) scare at Kukkarahalli Lake last year following the death of a couple of Pelicans and the Zoo was closed for a month in January 2017. 

Morning walkers yesterday found a juvenile Spot-Billed Pelican (Pelicanus Philippensis) lying exhausted on the Lake Bund. They informed bird activists who in turn alerted the People For Animals (PFA). The sick bird was taken to the animal rescue centre managed by PFA at Roopanagar in the evening. The bird, however, died last night.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Mysore Nature Group member Shylajesha said that the bird was found a few metres from the Fishing Jetty, parallel to Hunsur Road. “We informed the University of Mysore that maintains the Lake and shifted the bird to PFA,” he said. 

Bird in a comatose state

Government Veterinarian Dr. Vaseem Mirza, who treated the bird yesterday, told SOM that the bird was in a serious condition and it was in a comatose state. “I got a call from PFA last evening and I agreed to look into it due to humanitarian cause. The bird was severely infected and I administered drips to revive it and give the bird some energy to survive. Initial examination reveals that it could have died due to infection,” he said. 

On the exact cause of the death, Dr. Vaseem said that only a detailed post-mortem and an examination in an advanced laboratory could reveal the cause.

The death of the bird has caused concern among bird lovers. “This is a breeding time for local migratory birds including Great Cormorant, Pelican and Grey Heron. While the Great Cormorants have already started breeding, Pelicans are collecting nesting materials. Next in the line will be Black Ibis and Little Pelicans,” said Shylajesha. 

Samples collected

On its part, the Wildlife Division of the Forest Department has begun surveying Kukkarahalli Lake and Lingambudhi Lake to examine the condition of birds. In the absence of Alexander, the DCF (Wildlife) who has gone to Dubare Elephant Camp, DCF Dr. K.C. Prashanth Kumar told SOM that the Department has already collected the samples of the dead bird. 

“The Wildlife Division has sent the samples to Southern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory of the Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals (IAHVB), Bengaluru and results are awaited. Last year too, a few Pelicans died due to viral infection at Kokkare Bellur near Mandya. We will have to examine the exact cause before initiating any measures. It is difficult now to pin point the cause as Avian Influenza (Bird Flu). As a precautionary step, teams have been sent to Kukkarahalli Lake and Lingambudhi Lake to see the bird conditions,” he added. 

A veterinary section for Lake

“Sadly, the Lake Custodian University of Mysore does not even have a veterinary facility near the Lake. The vast Kukkarahalli Lake supports precious diversity and every time a bird falls ill or there is a disease outbreak, they are taken outside and treated. The least the University can do is to establish a veterinary centre at the Lake premises,” said bird lovers. 

They alleged that sullage water from surroundings including Paduvarahalli continues to flow into the Lake. “The wetland area on the Hunsur Road side needs to be cleaned and saplings must be planted for the sullage water to get treated naturally. The area now stinks as the wetland has not been cleaned since ages. This cleaning can be done in summer,” they added.