Avian Rehabilitation

A visiting trainee wildlife veterinarian from UK, Ashley Clayton, who also works with Wildlife Vets International wrote a beautiful piece on her blog covering our avian rehab work titled "Avian A&E during the Kite festival – Ahmedabad, India".

She writes:

"

I travelled to India this month with charity Wildlife Vets International, to assist with the Avian A&E at Jivdaya Charitable Trust, Ahmedabad.

I spent a total of 7 full days on the project, and was fortunate enough to work as part of a great team of people, and help treat a large number of injured birds. The species treated included an Egyptian vulture, a Flamingo, several Pea Fowl, lots of Ibis, tons of Black Kites, an Eagle, two species of Owl, and several Fruit bats – the list goes on, and on. I would be here for several paragraphs more if I listed all the animals we treated. Not to mention the massive effort by a team of vets based at the charity who were treating literally hundreds of injured pigeons every day. I think as we speak, the current total is about to surpass 2600 birds treated over the last month, and that sadly will continue to rise, likely over 3000, even though the festival itself was over several weeks ago.

This project is an incredible feat, organised by a large team of dedicated vets and volunteers in India, and supplemented by international veterinary professionals including highly skilled veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and veterinary assistants. The team is a great one, and without the skills of all involved these birds would face a very grim future.

The centre campaigns tirelessly throughout the festival, encouraging local people to come and see what goes on inside the hospital, and providing education on the dangers of kite string and the damage it can do.

This education and community support is not only vital in the success of the avian A&E which relies on members of the public to bring in injured birds, but also on the future reduction in kite flying and kite string use, and therefore the reduction in future injuries to birds and other animals.

I feel very fortune to have been a part of this large team, and hope to be able to return in the future to continue to assist with the phenomenal work that is being done here.

The money raised by international organisations is vital in providing resources such as needles, syringes, bandage material, feeding supplies, expertise, monitoring equipment and so many other vital resources which make the treatment of these animals so efficient.

"

Please read the full article by visiting the link in the below section.

Thank you donors for your support!

Links:

• Our avian rehab work covered by a visiting wildlife vet
• Follow our work on Facebook.

Uttarayan Save Birds Campaign (USBC) is organized every year in Ahmedabad by Jivdaya Charitable Trust during the Kite-flying festival (Uttarayan) as an effort to save the injured birds from certain death and giving them a survival chance.

Even though our official USBC 2018 campaign date was 13^th to 16^th January 2018, we started receiving birds injured by manja used in kite fighting (Uttarayan) from mid-December onward.

We received a total of 1107 birds during the campaign;

137 birds on 13^th Jan,

235 birds on 14^th Jan,

432 birds on 15^th Jan,

303 birds on 16^th Jan.

The total number of injured birds received from the 01^st of Jan to 18^th Jan 2018 however is 2080 birds of 39 species. Sadly, this will continue to go on until end of February.  

We were able to save 1752 birds, of which 980 birds were released while 772 birds are still under treatment.

Links:

• Newspaper article on USBC 2018
• Follow our work on Facebook.

Uttarayan is celebrated every year on the 14th & 15th January. People fly kites using sharp glass powder coated manja, & the deadly Chinese nylon manja. Thousands of birds fall victim to the manja with injuries on their wings or just about anywhere, bleeding them to death. This festival is one of the most unfortunate man-made disasters for the birds of our city. More than 5000 birds get 'cut' every year in Ahmedabad alone. The manja is so sharp that it sometimes cuts off the whole wing! The festival is around the corner and we need to prepare ourselves to save as many lives as we can. Even though the festival is on 14 & 15 January, people start flying kites from December itself so we start receiving injured birds from December. The loose manja that is heavily deposited on trees, poles, overhead cables, etc. keep trapping birds for many more months. This is why we keep receiving injured birds till March and sometimes few months after.

Uttarayan Save Birds Campaign (USBC) 2018 is coming up and we need your support! USBC campaign is organized every year in Ahmedabad by Jivdaya Charitable Trust during the Kite-flying festival (Uttarayan) as an effort to save the injured birds from certain death and giving them a survival chance. We receive more than 6000 injured birds of over 100 species starting from December to February. Each bird received in our hospital is usually suffering from deep lacerated wounds on wings and legs, sometimes with fractures. Each bird needs to surgically-operated to repair the lacerated wounds. This includes mainly soft tissue surgeries but sometimes requires orthopedic surgeries including intramedullary pinning of many variations. Post-operative care and management goes on from 5 days to a few months depending on the nature and degree of injury and recovery. All of this requires a lot of funds as we do not compromise on quality of welfare we conduct. If you love birds, and this is a cause close to your heart, please consider donating to this campaign.

We have already started receiving birds injured by manja. Over 30 birds of ten species have suffered serious injuries, some of which could not be saved. Please continue supporting this project to help us save more live. Thank you!

101 of these comb duck (locally known as 'nakta') ducklings came to us this season. Every year we receive several of these mainly because some comb ducks still nest in hollows/cavities of large trees surviving in the remaining small green pockets in Ahmedabad. Now because of rampant urbanization, all the water bodies have been filled up, and buildings and houses have taken their place. In nature, once the ducklings hatch out, they follow their parents to the nearby water body and feed on vegetation and invertebrates there. However, in the changed urban environment, some of the nesting trees remain but the water bodies have gone. People find them walking in search of food in gardens, in farms, on roads, etc. The parents fly away out of fear and these poor chaps are left behind. 

We raised several every year and eventually released them back in nature. These messy eaters have huge appetite and grow fast, but a balanced nutrition is critical for healthy growth. It is incredible to see them grow into beautiful ducks that fly long distances. 

Thank you so much for your support. We will keep sharing our successes with you.

This adult sarus crane was rescued from a field where it was found grounded, unable to fly. It was exhibiting symptoms of seconday poisoning due to pesticides in the farms. It was very dehydrated and was very light in weight when it came to us. 

It was treated for poisoning along with some supportive care and fluid therapy for almost a month. She was being tube-fed high energy fomula food as for the initial week, it refused eating on its own. Later, however, it started eating its natural diet of a mixture of grains and lentils. We continued the food supplements until it was completely fit for release. 

This crane was then shifted in the flight cage where it gained enough practice and stamina to fly well. It was finally released back in nature inside its home range. 

Sarus cranes are large, elegant cranes at 152-156 cms. They are listed as vulnerable as per IUCN red list, with decreasing population trend. The main threats are a combination of loss and degradation of wetlands, as a result of drainage and conversion to agriculture, ingestion of pesticides, and hunting and killing of adults for various reasons. Saving every individual bird is important for conservation of species and we are glad we are able to contribute to this!

We are grateful for your support!