Guwahati, Aug 21: Assam police on Saturday rescued six Palm cockatoos (Probosciger aterrimus) or black cockatoos—Australian exotic birds during a Naka check in Assam’s Cachar district.
According to the police, the smugglers managed to escape from the scene.
While talking to the media, Cachar Superintendent of Police Numal Mahatta said, “During Naka checking near the interstate border, a police team spotted smugglers holding cages and went to pursue them. When the police team approached, the smugglers left the cages with birds inside them on the road and fled the scene. Six exotic birds were rescued from the smugglers.”
“The caged birds were rescued in Cachar’s Dholai near the Assam-Mizoram border on Saturday evening,” he said.
Cachar divisional forest officer (DFO) Vijay Palve said, “We have identified them, and they are not Indian natives. It has been suspected that they were smuggled from neighbouring countries. The exotic birds will be taken to the Guwahati Zoo for a safer place.”
Sources said the inter-state smugglers are doing such kind of smuggling and selling them for huge money.
Meanwhile, the state government has taken a slew of measures to curb inter-state smuggling.
Recently, many poachers and smugglers were arrested after a massive crackdown against anti-social elements.
The palm cockatoo is still relatively common in Cape York but is threatened there by habitat destruction, particularly due to bauxite mining around Weipa and altered fire regimes elsewhere.
According to experts, the palm cockatoo is currently evaluated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed in Appendix I of CITES. In Australia, palm cockatoos were relisted from Near Threatened to Vulnerable on October 31, 2015.
The palm cockatoo is 55 to 60 CM (22 to 24 ) in length and weighs 910–1,200 grams (2.01-2.65 In).
Also read: Tripura: Police seize brown sugar worth Rs 10 crore, 3 held
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