BENGALURU: For the first time, a team of veterinarians in Bengaluru successfully performed feather implantation surgery on a peafowl. The bird was released into the Turahalli reserve forests after the procedure. During the lockdown, the number of peafowl sightings increased in the city. Some of them had suffered grievous injuries. In one such case, citizens found an injured sub-adult peafowl in Turahalli. They informed the People for Animals (PFA) team in June. “On primary examination, we found the bird was not moving and looked very weak. It was rescued and brought to the shelter in Kengeri.
Examination revealed that its wings were injured and feathers broken. After a thorough medical examination, feather implantation surgery was done and in the last week of June, the bird was released back into the forest with the help of Karnataka Forest Department officials,” said Dr Meghana P, a veterinarian with PFA.
She was a part of the team comprising Dr Silambarasan R, Dr Karthik M and Dr Navaz Shariff. The veterinarians have conducted similar procedures for around 50- 60 birds. A majority of cases they received were kites, because their wings get entangled in the kite ‘manjas’. During the lockdown they also treated peafowls for broken spinal cords and fractured legs. The veterinarians explained that in most cases the birds were in a road accidents, in others the bird got injured by colliding with walls while taking flight.