Peacocks: India
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Habitat
Sighted at 6500 feet in Bageshwar/ 2024
Yogesh Nagarkoti TNN, Oct 5, 2024: The Times of India
Bageshwar : A rare sighting of a peacock in the mountainous regions of Bageshwar in the Kumaon Himalayas has baffled wildlife experts as the bird is usually found in lowland forests and warmer plains. Experts said peacocks are usually found at altitudes up to around 1,600 feet above sea level. However, this week, it was spotted in a forest near Bageshwar, which has an elevation of around 6,500 feet, making the bird’s presence here an unusual occurrence.
Locals first noticed the presence of the bird in Kafligair (5,200 feet), around 30km from Bageshwar, where a peacock was sighted two months ago. The forest dept thereafter set up camera traps to monitor the area and gather more information about its presence.
Experts are probing whether this is an isolated event or part of a broader environmental shift, indicative of the impact of climate change on wildlife. Wildlife researchers say that the sighting can be a possible indicator of ecological changes affecting animal migration and habitats.
B S Adhikari, a scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India, said, “This is no doubt an abnormal event. Peacocks are known to reside in plains and forested areas. Their presence in mountainous regions may indicate climate or environmental changes, which requires detailed investigation.”
Shyam Singh Karayat, a ranger with the Bageshwar forest department, added, “Due to shifts in weather patterns and habitat changes, animals are beginning to venture into new territories.”
Protocol for burial
Trricolour bural?
Protocol reserved till now for the funerals of martyred Army personnel and national figures was extended to a peacock in the capital. On 7 May 2018, the Delhi Police wrapped the dead bird in tricolour before burying it in a wooden box.
The cops had rescued the peacock from a road outside the high court, but the bird later succumbed to its injuries. Police said they were simply following “protocol” as it was India’s national bird.
“We gave it full honour and buried it with a tricolour as it is our national bird. This is the protocol and we will follow it in the future if another such peacock comes in our custody,” said an officer at the Tilak Marg police station.
Wildlife activists said the funeral may have violated the Wildlife Act since peacock was a schedule-I bird.
The peacock was buried in Jaunapur, south Delhi, after a postmortem
Experts say there’s no protocol to bury bird, cops violated wildlife law
The police station had on 8 May 2018 received a call an injured peacock was lying outside gate number five of Delhi high court. The bird was taken to the Jain Bird Hospital in Chandni Chowk, where it was declared brought dead. Police said they then took the bird to a hospital in Jaunapur, south Delhi, for postmortem and conducted a burial in Jaunapur itself in the presence of a forest official.
“We are yet to know the cause of the death as the postmortem report will come next week, but it is suspected that the bird may have got injured after falling from a tree,” the officer said. Sunil Jain, manager at the Jain Bird hospital, said they receive an average of 10 peacock cases each month. Some suffer a heatstroke while others get injured due to dog bites or by traffic.
Experts TOI spoke to however said no such protocol existed and the activity may have been in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which states that schedule I animals found dead were state property and a burial or cremation could only be carried out by the state forest department after a postmortem. Animal activist Gauri Maulekhi said she had written a letter to the forest department last month after a dead peacock was reported at the Janakpuri police station on April 16.
“This is in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act as no NGO or police even can get a postmortem conducted or bury the animal. It needs to be handed over to forest department who are required to either cremate or bury the animal themselves to ensure no parts are smuggled. The correct protocol is not being followed in the case of peacock deaths and I have written to the forest department asking them to inform each police station on the procedure or to either empower them under section 55(b) of the act,” said Maulekhi.
