Two flamingos rescued in Mumbai, one dies

This is the second such incident in the last 10 days and last time the flamingos were found in Vikhroli and Thane.

Two flamingos were rescued by four teenage bird watchers at Mahul creek in Chembur on Sunday. While one died, the other is undergoing treatment at Thane SPCA.

The flamingo being treated at Thane Society for Protection of Cruelty to Animals. (HT PHOTO)

This is the second such incident in the last 10 days and last time the flamingos were found in Vikhroli and Thane.

The rescuers were identified as Shubham Gupta,18, Mohmmad Arbaz Khan,18, Uday Karande,23, and Chandresh Mali,21.

While Gupta and Khan were out birdwatching near Mahul creek in Chembur at 9.30am on Sunday, they saw two flamingos lying in a mud pond. “We went in the pond that had waist-high mud water. When we saw they had multiple injuries, we rescued them. We then called Romil Nathwani, an animal lover who then sent two boys for help,” said Mohammad Arbaz Khan.

“The flamingos were taken to Thane SPCA in the afternoon but sadly one flamingo died. We tried to call the forest department but half of the times it didn’t get connected and when it did, we did not get any proper help from them,” Nathwani said.

Both the flamingos had received multiple injuries. “ We initially treated them at Chembur and later sent them to Thane SPCA. It does not look like a case of poaching but forest department should look in to the matter,” said Dr Deepa Katyal, a veterinary doctor from Mumbai.

A forest officer said,” We came to know about the flamingos later in evening and its sad that one flamingo died. We will see to it that necessary measures are taken and also will keep an eye on the creek areas as now is the season of flamingos.”