John Wilbert & Sarthak Kanjilall
Billyground, September 06: Gunshot sounds in the Andaman Islands are now worrying the Wildlife division of the Forest Department.
On the 04th of September 2020,a bird viz ‘Malayan Night Heron’ said to be one of the rarest birds of the Andaman Group of Islands fell victim to a gunshot, attempted by some unknown hunter at Bharatpur, Middle Andaman.
The Malayan Night-Heron is nocturnal, it is a solitary forager that feeds by walking slowly at the edges of the water, fields, and other feeding areas.
Due to the airgun shot, the bird suffered some serious injuries and treatment is currently on in the local veterinary hospital.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, the Division Forest Officer, Middle Andaman said that the bird is being treated for the injuries and will be kept under the care of the Forest Department until the bird recovers completely.
The bird rescue operation was handled by the Forest Guard Mr. D. Shekhar under the overall supervision of Mr. Satyaprakash Singh IFS, DFO, Middle Andaman Forest Division.
It was Mr. Amit Adhikari, who sighted the injured bird first and informed the Forest authorities.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, the DFO, Middle Andaman said that Airgun hunting has become a menace in the Islands and the department is making all possible efforts to curb this menace through spreading awareness about birds conservation and by booking the offenders under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
DFO(MA) further appealed to the general public to help the department in nabbing the offender.
