“The government has also showed its interest in encouraging the breeding of the Nicobar Pigeons in Kankaria Zoo with all facilities for them. In future, if the bird becomes extinct in their original habitat, then pigeons from our zoo will be sent to Chidiyatapu Zoo in Andaman and Nicobar Islands to keep the species alive over there,” Sahu said.

The Central Zoo Authority has defined the process of the upkeep of animals in zoos. Any zoo that does not follow the norms faces the risk of closure. As a practice, the zoos keep a record of the complete information about the pedigree, food habits, schedule of medicines and other details of the animals.

“Local awareness regarding the threatened species thriving in their locality should be promoted by the Forest Department and other local NGOs involved in conservation. The community level participation should be encouraged in the management and conservation programmes of the pigeons,” said Sonal Dehskar of the Gujarat Ecology Society.

Dr R K Sahu believes that education can be a constructive tool to preserve endangered species like the Nicobar Pigeon. “We receive a lot of entries for internships and a considerable number of young students are opting for PhDs in Zoology. This awareness will further help them to conserve many species. Zoos have always played an important role to sensitise and educate people about many species,” he said.

Sahu added: “I believe in the friends-for-zoo scheme. If people adopt an animal or a bird from the zoo, each such contribution can conserve many species that are on the verge of extinction. The customers have to only pay for the food and health expenditure of their chosen species for a year or more and maintenance will be done by the zoo authorities. They can also keep a check on how their pet is fed and taken care of.”