Migratory birds no longer keen to nest at Alipore Zoo

This is not for the first time that the feathered guests have left Alipore Zoo for nearby wetlands. The trend has been going for the last few seasons.

Birds like Saras crane which come from far away continents like North America and Australia are preferring to spend winter in Howrah and east Kolkata wetlands. Once a pit stop for Siberian Garganeytelly, the Zoo’s lake is deserted this time.

According to Subir Chaudhury, Director, Alipore zoo, not only has the number of birds gone down considerably over the past two decades, the duration of their stay has also shortened. Chaudhary says the reason behind is the climate change due to global warming.

Debasis Chakrabarty, Managing Trustee of People for Animal (PFA), an NGO, says, “Air and noise pollution, disappearance of wetlands and agricultural fields, polluted water are other factors affecting the birds’ migration.”

“Around 84 per cent of species of migratory birds face some form of threat from climate change,” he adds.

The water bodies in the zoo have stagnant dark water littered with garbage thrown by visitors.

Chaudhary, however, denies that zoo’s dirty lake is preventing birds to make a stopover here. “I don’t think so,” he replies. Sumeet Kara, a visitor, says, “It is difficult to pinpoint the reason behind migratory birds’ disappearance from the zoo. Most probably, a combination of several factors, including the micro climate changes in and around Kolkata, are behind this.”

Far from the debate, a signboard is the only indicator of once teeming birds at zoo. The board that lists the different species of birds, which once used to flock the lake during winter, remains a mute spectator to the transition, hoping that the birds will be back again.