Most calls to BBMP helplines related to birds in distress

The number of calls at BBMP helplines, for instance, has increased by at least 30% in March and the majority of them are related to birds.

Bengaluru: The scorching summer heat has left many birds in the city struggling to get water and food. As a result, more and more birds are seen dropping down to the ground. The animal and bird rescue centres across the city have seen a drastic increase in the number of rescue calls over the last month. 

The number of calls at BBMP helplines, for instance, has increased by at least 30 per cent in March and the majority of them are related to birds. 

“Earlier we used to get hardly 50 calls a day. Now, we receive close to 80-100 calls and at least 40 of them are related to rehabilitation or support for birds that have dropped down on the roads,” said Prasanna Kumar, Bengaluru Animal Welfare warden. 

However, he added that they were able to attend to only 20 to 30 calls and at least 20 birds in the city are left dying every day.

Jayanthi Kallam from the Avian and Reptile Rehabilitation Centre (ARRC), pointed out that the increasing temperatures pose numerous challenges to birds. On one hand, the availability of water reduces, leading to dehydration and on the other hand, it also gets hard to get food. 

“The number of birds being rescued has definitely increased. Owing to the rising temperatures, the birds tend to stay in the nest and as a result their time window of looking for food also reduces,” she said. Kumar added that summer is usually a dry season and even trees do not bear much fruit till May.

The bigger problem, however, the experts said was the large number of baby birds that were being rescued. This is primarily because summer coincides with the breeding season of the birds in Bengaluru. “These small birds cannot bear the increasing heat inside the nest and venture out before they develop completely. As a result, we see a lot of baby birds with underdeveloped wings or legs dropping onto the ground,” Jayanthi explained.

Year-on-year, the cases being reported during the summer have only increased and this is an indication of danger, Kumar added. “It is pointing at a bigger problem. The death of birds is an indication that not everything in the city is right. We need to take up measures to protect the habitat of birds and animals in the city,” he said.