Navi Mumbai Residents & Activists Come Together To Help Stranded Wetland Wading Bird

Navi Mumbai residents and activists in a display of compassion and care came together to help a stranded wetland wading bird- Juvenile Black headed Ibis.

On Thursday morning, the bird was found at the entrance of NRI Seawoods complex gate no 2. Black Headed Ibises are listed as ‘Near Threatened’ under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list.

“ I was returning from my morning walk when I saw the bird inside an enclosure adjacent to my residence. The bird appeared to be injured as it was not able to move and remained motionless,” said a resident Gaurav Goel.

The resident clicked pictures of the bird and shared it on social media groups. He also tagged the location of the bird for the rescue organisation to be able to locate the bird. “ I was aware of groups passionate about the Flamingos and environment related activities. I posted the pic on that group and in a matter of minutes, it garnered attention,” said Goel.

An animal activist known for rescuing birds was alerted. The activist in turn informed the forest department and visited the spot to ascertain the condition of the bird. “it was a sub adult black headed Ibis. The bird was extremely stressed and seemed dehydrated. There were no external injuries and no wounds present” said Sunpreet Sawardekar, an animal activist.

Efforts were made to make the bird feel comfortable and rehydrate it. The bird was given water, fishes and even electrolytes water. “ It did seem that the bird was regaining energy but about twenty mins later its condition worsened ,” adds sunpreet.

The bird was eventually taken to Cessna Veterinary Hospital. The activist was assisted by a friend Advika Bhagwat in transporting the bird to the hospital.

In spite of all the efforts, the bird succumbed. The cause of death according to the doctors was dehydration and diarrhoea. The body of the bird was handed to the Mangrove department, ghansoli along with the death certificate.