The death of 14 peacocks in a month in Chittoor district has come as a shock to the forest officials and residents of the forest fringe villages.
On February 11, the carcasses of seven peacocks were found in the fields close to the forest at Somala village, while the cause of death was confirmed to be “a bacterial infection.” The death of three birds at Palamaner on March 8 was suspected to be due to “poisoning”, while in the four deaths at Kuppam on March 5, no clear clues are available so far.
With copious rains in 2021, the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary belt and the forest cover in Chittoor west, Punganur, and Madanapalle ranges are teeming with a new generation of wildlife species, while the population of peacocks has replenished by leaps and bounds.
The residents of a remote forested hamlet in Palamaner range informed the officials that they used to see just a couple of peacocks on the road last year, and their population had now reached over 20. The same is the case with other ranges too, with several water bodies brimming with water.
As the green cover all over the West division improved, housing a variety of insects and food for the peacocks, there is no need for the birds to visit the fields at present. However, in rare cases due to seasonal changes, the peacocks keep visiting the fields before harvesting. Particularly during these periods, the water in the irrigation channels gets contaminated and poisonous chemicals are used to protect crops from rodents.
Peacock rescued
Divisional Forest Officer (Chittoor West) S. Ravi Shankar said that acting on information from the residents at Palamaner that peacocks were battling for lives in the fields, the forest staff rushed to the spot and rescued one peacock, while three others died.
“In this case, an anti-dote was administered to the bird and it survived. This is an indication that the birds had consumed poisoned stuff in the fields. “Certainly, we can’t fault the farmers. There is not even a single case of hunting peacocks in the area in the last several years. The farmers even offer feed to these birds, sometimes leaving a portion of the crop for them. They just love the peacocks. This Palamaner case is perceived as purely unintentional,” the official said.
However, to put an end to the deaths of the national bird in the region, the forest officials urged the farmers to avoid using “poisoned feed” in their fields to fight rodents and abandoning such material at the water channels.
“We are waiting for the post-mortem reports in Palamaner and Kuppam incidents. In future, if the peacock deaths take place due to poisoning, the owner of the particular landholdings will be held responsible, and booked,” the DFO said.
