Caught up in thread: Manja makes kite soar, but brings down birds
On the day of Makar Sankranti, Animal Warriors Conservation Society's volunteers rescued 26 birds. Five of them died, and four were released on the spot. The remaining 17 injured birds were taken to the shelter.
New Delhi: Human beings have always found immense joy in the kite-flying season, as was again seen this year. The sight of a kite bringing down another one generally evokes delight, but this time, it has also brought down numerous birds as they got entangled in the deadly grip of ‘manja’, according to a report by The Hindu.
The woes of birds during kite-flying season
Among those birds, even the little green bee eaters that are 6.3–7.1 inches long were reportedly struck by the thread during flight. It states that on January 15, disaster response forces from the Hyderabad Disaster Response & Asset Protection Agency rescued a water duck stuck in manja in the Yapral lake.
Festive occasion spells trouble for birds
On the day of Makar Sankranti, Animal Warriors Conservation Society's volunteers rescued 26 birds. Five of them died, and four were released on the spot. The remaining 17 injured birds were taken to the shelter. Among the birds that were brought down by manja are the river tern, green bee-eater, black-headed ibis, shikra, peafowl, black kite, barn owl, and peregrine falcon. They rescued three green bee-eaters, and one of them died.
They reportedly rescued 145 birds during the festive season. Out of them, 41 died, and 104 are being treated at a dedicated shelter in Ameenpur. Their rescue included saving a pigeon stuck on a 100-foot mobile tower, during which the volunteers faced great challenges.
The rescue method of GHSPCA
There is a bird rescue method that Soudharm Bhandari from Greater Hyderabad Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has developed. When a bird gets stuck at a great height, the manja will be burned using an incense stick, and the bird will be caught in a net. The organisation has rescued 58 birds this year, including eagles, kites, and an owl.
More than Chinese manja, experts blame Sky King manja, which is predominantly traded from Gujarat, for the damage to birds. Unlike the manja of earlier days, the thread that controls the fate of a kite has become complicated, and to the birds who want to fly without any fear, it has turned deadly.