Chhatbir Zoo bird enclosure closes for 5 days amid flu fears

Could be extended for 15 days if Barwala report confirms that birds perished due to virus, says zoo field director

Chhatbir Zoo officials on Tuesday said they were closing down the walk-in aviary for five days amid bird flu fears after Himachal Pradesh became the fourth state to confirm an outbreak with 1,800 migratory birds, most of them bar-headed geese, found dead in the Pong Dam Lake sanctuary and thousands of birds perishing in the poultry hub of Barwala in Haryana for reasons not known as yet.

The Chhatbir Zoo walk-in aviary (pictured here) has been closed for five days. (HT Photo)

“We have closed down the birds section for five days, but since the sample reports of Barwala chicken are awaited we will decide on extending the closure, maybe for 15 days. We don’t want to take any risks,” said M Sudhagar, field director of Chhatbir Zoo.

The move comes barely after a month when the zoo opened to public on December 10 after March 17 following the Covid-19 outbreak. It has been hit financially too, suffering losses of Rs 5 crore since it earned revenues of an estimated Rs 8 lakh a day before the lockdown.

Authorities say it will take at least six months to recover from the lockdown losses .

Chhatbir Zoo, one of the largest in India, is spread over 505 acres of forest area in Mohali and is home to around 1,500 animal and avian species, including five adult tigers and three newborn cubs.