Now Ranganathittu on alert

Bird droppings at bird sanctuary test negative; forest personnel monitor behaviour of birds.
Veterinary doctor Manjunath collecting samples of bird droppings at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Srirangapatna on Thursday | Udayashankar S
Veterinary doctor Manjunath collecting samples of bird droppings at Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in Srirangapatna on Thursday | Udayashankar S

MYSURU: Due to the outbreak of bird flu (H5N8) caused by the death of migratory birds in Mysuru Zoo, the Forest Department has put Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary on the banks of Cauvery, on alert.

The forest authorities and veterinary doctors are also keeping a close watch on the birds in Gendehosahalli bird sanctuary in Srirangapatna and Kokkarebellur Bird Sanctuary in Maddur taluk.

The authorities, who inspected the bird sanctuary, collected droppings of birds and closely monitored the behavior of birds round-the-clock, have ruled out any threat to the birds. Due to this, the bird sanctuary is open with boating facilities. 

The authorities have also kept a septic tank at the entrance gate were tourists should wash their legs before entering the sanctuary. The department has also banned public from taking food or consuming food inside the bird sanctuary.

Meanwhile, the forest staff and boatmen, who have the knowledge of birds and their behaviour, are working round-the-clock to monitor the movements of birds. 

They are patrolling the santuary carrying torches to observe the birds’ movements, feeding, community meetings and activities.

Suspected birds will be tracked to check their health and confirm that they are free from the bird flu.
The sanctuary, situated on the banks of Cauvery, has more than 3,000 birds including arriving pointed stork, Pelican, river tern, stone plougher, snake bird, night heron, spoon bills and others for the breeding season from January to June. The birds move out from the sanctuary to nearby paddy fields, tanks and water bodies.

DFO Ganesh Bhat, along with his staff, visited Ranganathittu and collected fresh droppings of the birds that will be sent to Indian Animal  Health and Veterinary Biological Institute. 

He said the samples are negative and confirmed that no bird has died due to bird flu in recent months at the sanctuary. Clarifying that there is no threat to birds, Ganesh said the sanctuary will be open for public.

While, veterinary doctor Manjunath, who is visiting sanctuary twice a day to randomly collect droppings, said the suspected samples will be sent to National Laboratory in Bhopal.


He said the forest personnel are also observing behavior birds in the night. They have also started to look into any complaints of birds death in and around the sanctuary or in nearby villages as a precautionary measure.

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