29 birds rescued from hunters in Rajshahi Padma char
Birds remain central to the ecology of the river in the northern part of Bangladesh
Members of the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division have rescued 29 Ruddy Shelducks, locally known as Chokha-Chokhi, from hunters during a drive in Rajshahi.
A team of the division led by Junior Wildlife Scout Md Sohel Rana rescued the waterfowls from the Padma char area adjacent to Gahmabona and Haripur villages in Paba upazila of Rajshahi on Wednesday.
However, they could not nab any of the hunters. The birds were sent to the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Rajshahi under the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division.
According to the division, the ecology of the Padma River in Rajshahi is based on various species of bird. Thousands of birds make their nests on the banks of the river. The area is filled with their woodnotes.
Hunters hunt in the area using guns, poison and other traps even though stalking of birds is banned in Bangladesh.
During the drive on Wednesday, the wildlife conservation team suspected a man after seeing him carrying two sacks. When ordered to halt, the man ran away leaving away the sacks. A total of 29 wounded Chokha-Chokhi were found inside the sacks.
"Since hunters rip off the larger feathers after catching the birds, they cannot fly. Therefore, we have sent the birds to the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre," said Ashraful Islam, a forester at the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division.
The birds have been kept under observation, and they will be freed into the wild when they can fly, he added.