Nice Road is a busy thoroughfare that runs through the heart of Bangaluru, a bustling city in south India. It is definitely not a safe spot for a peafowl to be crossing the road.
Maybe there had been a lull in the traffic, and maybe it had seemed to the bird that there was a large open spot, safe enough to cross. Or maybe he had hit a car windshield instead.
In whatever way the accident happened, sadly, the adult male peafowl was very severely injured. Kind rescuers, at a lot of risk to themselves, picked him up and rushed him to the nearby WRRC (Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre). He was in a bad state, and they hoped to save his life.
When he was brought in, he had a severe head injury and was still bleeding. One of his wings was broken too.
Quick action and another hazard too – stress.
Dr. Roopa Satish, the WRRC veterinarian and licensed wildlife rehabilitator acted quickly to stabilize his condition. The fractured wing bone was set and the head wound was attended to. She gave him antibiotics, pain killer injections, and fluids.
One of the additional hazards with any wild bird in captivity is stress. The bird is not only suffering from injuries just like any patient, but on top of that, any wild bird that suddenly finds himself in captivity will suffer extreme stress. In the wild, a bird is never caught unless it is by a predator – and that experience is life-threatening and terrifying.
A peafowl is big, but they are just as terrified as any other bird – and the stress may be as dangerous as the wounds themselves.
Capture myopathy may be experienced by wild birds on being handled. This condition often leads to immense stress which can cause cardiac failure and death.
Dr. Roopa and the caregivers were all too aware of the perilous situation of the bird. She wrote to us, “We were keeping our fingers crossed for the life of this brave bird.”
After treating him, the caregivers moved him into a spacious posttreatment area where he was kept calm, quiet, and warm. They left him to rest and took great care not to disturb him.
For the next three days, they did have to handle him to give him injections and the necessary fluids. From the fourth day though, he was able to move about on his own and feed himself, which was much less stressful for him.
Recovery
Some time later though, the peafowl apparently had come to the conclusion that the wing bandage wasn’t such a good idea – so he pulled it off, and the wing had to be rebandaged all over again.
However, with that hurdle behind him, everything began to go more smoothly. The new bandage stayed on. Over the next three weeks, the fractured bone healed well. When the bandage was finally removed, he was able to fly again, and his flight gradually improved. His overall condition was much better too, and he was soon looking almost as good as new.
When he was ready, they applied for and received from the Forest Department, the permission necessary to release him back to the wild. He had recovered beautifully.
Back to the wild
The WRRC centre is located right in the Bannerghatta Forest – which covers an area of 100 square miles (260 square kilometers). It is filled with natural plants, big trees, and abundant wildlife – elephants too.
So, at the WRRC, in the forest itself, Dr. Roopa and her team released the peafowl and watched him as he walked among the trees to take up his life anew. Much wiser now and with a very spacious forest to roam in, he can expect to find a mate and look forward to many years of living a free life in the wild forest. Peafowl may often live 25 years in the forest.
India’s excellent wildlife laws are very successful in affording protection to wild birds and other wildlife, so the wildlife in India are abundant – which is good. However, traffic can be a problem. It is hoped that, as time goes by, wildlife will also be assured of vast protected areas in which they can thrive in peace, far from dangers posed by busy roads. They need good spaces of wilderness, away from the dangers of the city, in which to live.
Many congratulations to Dr. Roopa and her team at the WRRC for all their amazing, life-restoring work – and for giving this brave bird a future filled with the immense joy of life in the wild.
By Sharon St Joan
Photos:
Photo: Creator: Jatin Sindhu / jatinsindhu / 500px Credit: Jatin Sindhu / 500px
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