Himachal: 1,200 migratory birds die at Pong Dam, probe ordered

CHANDIGARH: Some 1,200 migratory birds have died in a week under mysterious circumstances at the Pong Dam in Himachal Pradesh.

The dead birds include endangered bar-headed goose, black-headed gull, river tern, common teal, and shoveler. 

It was noticed that before their death, a few birds including the bar-headed goose would act strangely. Their carcasses have been sent to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly and Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in Jalandhar to determine the cause of death.

On December 28, four bar-headed geese and one common teal were found dead in the Fatehpur area of Pong. Then the field staff of the wildlife department carried out the search of the wetland and found out that 421 birds had died in wildlife range of Dhameta and Guglara areas of the Nagrota range.

The initial report of the post-mortem has ruled out poisoning as the cause of their death.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife)and Chief Wildlife Warden Archana Sharma said: "Around 1,200 migratory birds have died in the last few days at the Pong Dam and a probe has been ordered into the case. Action will be taken against those found guilty after we get the report of the exact cause of their deaths. The area has been cordoned off."

About 57,000 migratory birds were recorded in the census on December 15 in Pong wetlands which are spread over 18,000 hectares. The most prominent among them were the bar-headed goose, northern pintail, common pochard,  Eurasian coot, common teal, great cormorant, Eurasian wigeon, gadwall, and graylag goose.

Every winter, the Pong dam is visited by 1.5 lakh migratory birds from 114 species.