At least 25 bird carcasses found so far at Tau Devi Biodiversity Park, bird flu suspected

Carcasses of at least 25 birds have been found at the Tau Devi Biodiversity Park over the past few days, officials of the wildlife department said on Sunday, amid growing concerns over an outbreak of avian influenza virus (AIV)

Carcasses of at least 25 birds have been found at the Tau Devi Biodiversity Park over the past few days, officials of the wildlife department said on Sunday, amid growing concerns over an outbreak of avian influenza virus (AIV).

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Officials said that the increasing bird deaths in the city, especially at the biodiversity park, are most likely due to avian influenza. The carcasses of the birds were buried at the biodiversity park and samples sent for testing.

During a spot visit to the park in Sector 56 on Sunday afternoon, a Hindustan Times team was able to spot at least five carcasses in the park, including those of three crows, a myna and an egret. The team also came upon two crows that appeared sickly and unable to move.

Wildlife officials confirmed that a higher incidence of bird mortality has indeed been reported from Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity park, particularly among crows.

“In the last two to three days alone, some 25 dead birds have been retrieved and buried at Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park, to prevent any further spread of bird flu. Almost all are crows, with one or two mynas and egrets. Even though confirmatory results from the lab in Jalandhar are yet to come, bird flu seems to be the likeliest cause of death. We are now keeping a very close eye on Sultanpur, Basai and Najafgarh wetlands for anything out of the ordinary, but there has been no unusual activity there so far among local or migrant birds,” said Rajesh Chahal, wildlife inspector.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), which maintains the Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park, erected signboards at the park’s entrance on Sunday that read: “A lot of birds are dying in the park because of bird flu. Please be cautious for your own safety.”

Subash Yadav, a metropolitan green planner with the GMDA, also said that footfall in the park decreased sharply over the past week. “The park was the emptiest it has been on a Sunday in several months. Walkers and joggers make up a huge portion of the crowd, but there is reluctance due to the bird flu scare. If the lab report confirms the presence of AIV, we will shut the park to walkers for a few days.”

However, officials also said that any confirmation of bird flu in Gurugram will still take at least another two weeks. “The Regional Disease Diagnostic Lab (RDDL) in Jalandhar is processing samples from all over the country, so the test results will take some time to arrive. In fact, the RDDL’s backlog of samples is so much that we have stopped conducting RT-PCR tests there for Covid-19 so that these bird flu samples can be cleared first,” an official of the animal husbandry department said, requesting anonymity.

Meanwhile, 11 rapid response teams conducted clinical surveillance of poultry farms on Sunday but did not find any sign of an avian influenza outbreak. “I cannot say much except that we have not seen anything unusual with the health of poultry. We are on the lookout. Our field teams have been in constant touch with poultry farmers. Nothing is out of the ordinary there,” said the official cited above.

Dr Punita Gahlot, deputy director, animal husbandry, declined comment on the issue, saying that dead wild birds are the remit of the wildlife department.