Assam police rescue six exotic ‘Palm cockatoo’; smugglers flee

The caged birds were rescued in Cachar’s Dholai near Assam-Mizoram border on Saturday evening, police said

Six Palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) or black cockatoos– Australian exotic birds– were rescued from Assam’s Cachar district during a Naka checking on Saturday, police said, adding the smugglers managed to escape.

Palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) or black cockatoos are natives of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia (Twitter Photo)

The caged birds were rescued in Cachar’s Dholai near Assam-Mizoram border on Saturday evening, police said. The smugglers left the cages near the road before fleeing from the spot, they said.

Cachar district superintendent of police (SP) Numal Mahatta said, during Naka checking near the interstate border, police noticed the smugglers holding cages and went to pursue them.

The smugglers left the cages with birds inside them on the road and fled the spot as the police approached, said the SP, adding that police were able to rescue six exotic birds.

Vijay Palve, divisional forest officer (DFO) Cacha, said that immediately after the rescue, a team of experts reached the police station and identified the species.

“We have identified them and they are not Indian natives, so it is suspected that they were smuggled from neighbouring countries,” Palve said. The exotic birds will be taken to the Guwahati Zoo for a safer place, added the DFO.