Natore villagers feast on guest birds amid cyclone Amphan

Villagers captured and slaughter and cooked a flock of 200 helpless Shamuk-khol birds that were stuck amid the cyclone Amphan in Natore.

The birds had perched in the trees of Bajitpur village in Baraigram of Natore and at least 200 birds fell to the ground on Thursday morning as they could not keep up with the gusts of wind, reported the Prothom Alo.

Abdul Quader, a young bird lover of the village, said that for three months, more than two hundred birds had been nesting in three Shimul trees near Battala Bazar in the village. 

During the day, the birds would feed on the surrounding swaps and then would come to the trees at night and take shelter, he added.

"Many have tried to hunt the birds, but their attempt was not successful as I used to prevent them. But they could not be saved anymore", said Quader.

When Quader had learnt that villagers captured the birds that had fallen down, he ran to their rescue but it was too late by then.

Saiful Islam, president of the Chalanbil Biodiversity Safety Committee, said that the killing of helpless guest birds was very sad, and added, "The local administration needed to be proactive in order to avoid such a situation."

Baraigram Upazila Livestock Officer Uzzal Kumar Kundu said they were not aware of the presence of guest birds but assured that measures would be taken to prevent such incidents from happening again.