The feminine Great hornbill with the chick in the State Horticulture Farm at Kallar in Coimbatore district.
| Photo Credit: file picture
In a tragic flip of occasions, a Great Hornbill chick that was being raised by the mother chook, after its pair died of stress in the aftermath of a botched rescue effort by native folks and the Forest Department workers, was found dead in the nest at Kallar near right here on Saturday.
Sources in the know of the event stated the carcass of the chick was in a decomposing stage. Forest workers checked the cavity nest of the hornbill in a tall tree on the State horticulture farm in Kallar near Mettupalayam, discovering no motion of the chick and the mother chook.
The chick, which was anticipated to unfold its wings in some days, had been peeping out its beak to obtain meals. However, the motion stopped after which the workers inspected the nest on Saturday.
A senior official with the Forest Department stated the chick is suspected to have died in the affect of heavy rains that Kallar area on the Nilgiris foothills obtained in the previous few days. The division suspects that rain water bought stagnated in the cavity, resulting in its death. The carcass of the chick was autopsied on Saturday night.
“Its stomach was full of ficus fruits”, stated the official, hinting that the chick was not starved.
The mother chook began feeding the chick single-handedly after its pair’s death on April 28. In the morning of April 28, the male chook was found in misery at Thuri Palam, round two km from the nest, after allegedly being cornered by macaques near a ficus tree.
The male hornbill was initially rescued by native folks earlier than being handed over to the Forest Department. Videos of the rescue by locals confirmed the hornbill, which may be very delicate to human presence, screaming in misery. Its beak and legs have been tied up. Though the chook was launched on the identical day night after being examined and handled by a authorities veterinarian, it died.
“Due to a botched rescue, two hornbills have lost their lives. Had the male been alive, the chick would have received double the amount of feed and it could have fledged earlier. The department should sensitise its own staff and locals in hornbill habitat areas on how to handle them in case of a rescue, causing minimum stress,” stated a conservationist who’s working intently with the division.
