Dead Crows- road to extinction?
Crows in the state of Jharkhand are reportedly dying of avian-flu. Hundreds of crows are dropping dead across towns and villages of Jharkhand, and this is a worrying situation, say health officials.
The sudden death of crows were noticed last month in Jamshedpur district. This was followed by their deaths being recorded in Ranchi, Bokaro, Khuti, Sahebganj and other districts of the state. Just last week there was a mild panic as peole discovered dead crows from several places in Hazirabagh district.
Concerned over unnatural deaths in the crow population, the situation, the Jharkhand’s animal husbandry department called in experts from Bhopal’s Indian Veterinary Research Institute to find out the cause of the crows’ large-scale deaths.
“Samples of the dead crows were sent to Bhopal for tests. The scientists found strains of the deadly H5N1 virus in the dead crows, thus confirming that they had died of bird flu,” an official of the animal husbandry department said.
The department has issued advisories in local newspapers, asking people not to touch the dead crows, bury them and inform officials and others. The Ranchi zoo has been closed to visitors as a precautionary step. There is a possibility of the other birds being open to infection as crows are major scavengers in the region. It is also possible that the crows may have picked up the bird flu from eating the carcass or remains of slaughtered chickens.
Some estimates say that about the population of crows in the region has dropped 40 percent, but there’s no danger of the birds becoming extinct… yet. http://newsneteast.com/home/?p=624
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