After losing elephants to speeding trains on railway tracks, the forests of North Bengal — particularly those of Gorumara, Chapramari, Jaldapara and Mahananda — are facing yet another threat. Parakeet chicks are being smuggled out of these forests to be sent to the neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan, where they are in great demand.
Sold anywhere between Rs500-Rs1500, the chicks are poached during the ongoing breeding season beginning from spring from their nests that are largely the cavities of tall trees. These forests have nearly 5-6 varieties of parakeets thereby making them hot spot for poaching.
local environmentalist Anirban Mazumdar, who brought the issue before the Forest department said, the chicks hatch within 15 to 20 days, of laying eggs. The poachers keeping a close eye on the developments, remove the chicks from their nests keeping them in cages/ large saucers lined with cotton wool. They are fed with the dust of gram seeds.
Naturalist photographer in the region, Dibyendu Deb further informed that these forests have varied species of parakeets including the large Indian ring necked, plum headed, Alexandrine, Greater Rose ringed amongst others. Presence of large trees as Sal, make these forests their ideal nesting sites.
Most parrots nest in tree cavities, often made by woodpeckers. After the woodpeckers finish nesting, parrots may move in to raise a family. If the hole is too small or needs a little renovation, the parrots often use their chewing ability to enlarge and customise the hole.
These poached birds are easily smuggled out to the international territories of Nepal and Bhutan where they are in great demand, kept as pets in cages. While Jaldapara forest is just adjacent to Bhutan, Mahananda is very close to Nepal. These poachers thus conveniently
find their way out to reach
the prospective buyers, informed Deb.
“They are largely from the surrounding villages, who get into such illegal bird trapping because of the easy and quick money involved. We are
trying to keep close vigil on their activities with the help of local NGO’s. We have
managed to nab few cases of poaching recently, which can prove to be deterrents,”
said Sumita Ghatak,
DFO, Jalpaiguri Wildlife Division-2.
These species fall under Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
The Act prohibits any person (other than a recognised zoo or a rescue centre) from keeping any wild animal (species listed in Schedule I to IV) in captivity without previous written permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State.