Gurgaon: Injured ruddy shelduck rescued from Najafgarh Lake

Officials at Najafgarh Lake had spotted an injured duck that was being chased by stray dogs. The duck had injured its right wing and right leg, and was limping.

A team from the Gurgaon forest department rescued a severely injured ruddy shelduck, also known as the Brahminy duck, from the Najafgarh Lake on Wednesday.

The bird had injured itself after it got stuck in the wire near Najafgarh Lake on Wednesday night.

The bird was brought to the Sultanpur National Park and is undergoing treatment. Doctors said she will be released once she is able to move.

The forest department received a call late on Wednesday night from officials posted at the Najafgarh Lake. The officials had spotted an injured duck and was being chased by stray dogs, the forest department officials said, adding that the duck was limping.

“Her right wing and right leg was severely injured after she got stuck in the wire near the lake on Wednesday night,” said Dr Ashok Khasa, a veterinary surgeon with the forest department, Gurgaon.

I conducted the operation and have applied antiseptic dressing on her wing. We gave her glucose water after the opration to ensure she recovers well, Dr Khasa said.

“On Thursday evening, we gave her bird feed, which the bird could not digest and threw-up. We will have to keep her under observation for at least 15 days,” Dr Khasa said.

The bird will take about two weeks to recover and, if required, she will be sent to the Rohtak Zoo which has a treatment room for animals—the only one in the state.

The ruddy shelduck migrate to the wetlands around Gurgaon from colder region in winters. Though most of them have returned to their places of origin with the onset of summer in the plains, some are yet to fly off.

Forest department officials also said they have plans to construct a treatment room at the Sultanpur National Park as a lot of injured birds are being rescued from the lake here.