Botanical Garden: From bird haven to haven for bird thieves

Inside the National Botanical Garden in Dhaka, you are greeted by the incessant yet intriguing calls and songs of numerous birds. 

Flitting from one branch to another, the birds look majestic, silhouetted against the midday sun whose rays pierce the thin, leafy canopy of the trees to caress the uneven walkway. 

At times, the nesting birds, frightened by the feeling of being watched, hide away in tree hollows.

The 208-acre botanical garden housing about 80,000 plants - a jungle of shrubs, bushes and tall trees, both indigenous and exotic - seems like an ideal habitat for the birds to thrive. 

But it was not, especially for birds that mate and breed in the tree hollows. Recently, some independent birdwatchers and wildlife conservators have raised a serious concern that thieves, living nearby the botanical garden area, steal nestlings from their parents to run an illegal trade supported by unscrupulous garden staff.

Several studies suggest that the botanical garden houses about 80,000 plants of 1,041 species and a total of 65 species of birds, along with some other wild animals such as jackal, squirrel, pangolin, monitor lizard and snake.

Recently, one wildlife photographer Nafis Ameen raised the issue on his Facebook handle, saying that his team had first noticed the theft of parakeet chicks last year when they found tree branches and sticks implanted in some tree hollows, which they had noticed earlier were bird nests.   

"We assumed the thieves block all the exit routes, except one by the branches. They drive away the mother bird that way. Then they cut open the entrance of the hollow and pick up the hatchlings," Nafis told The Business Standard.

Nafis and his team of photography students decided to monitor the tree hollows the next season, covering the mating and breeding periods. 

From January this year, they frequented the garden and took photos of the birds' nests - the hollows - a part of keeping records.  

Suddenly in the first week of April, they found many hollows cut open with empty nests inside. 

Recently, this correspondent visited the botanical garden to look into the issue. 

Accompanying the correspondent, Maimon Sajib and Shifat Sarker, two students of Nafis, pointed to the damaged hollows of two teak trunks. 

"In January, I took photos of mating parakeets perched on the openings of the hollows. We all hoped the mother birds had laid eggs and the hatchlings were growing big, day by day. But they are stolen now," an aggrieved Shifat said.

The young conservator was especially aggrieved that such a wildlife crime was happening in a place like the botanical garden, supposedly a safe haven for flora and fauna. 

"Climbing more than 20 feet, planting sticks or branches inside the hollows and then stealing chicks is not something common visitors can just pull off. This is a challenging and time-consuming task. Obviously, this is being done by experienced poachers who have good relations with the garden staff," Nafis said. 
 
We were roaming around the garden, searching for other tree hollows and bird nests. 

At one point, two local teenagers appeared. Nayeem and Robiul are-both school dropouts. Nayeem works as a conductor with a human hauler, as a part-timer. For the rest of his day, he passes time with Robiul and other friends of the same age at the garden. 

We approached them, disguised as potential buyers of chicks. It did not take us long to convince the poor teenagers.

Robiul said, "Not all the chicks are suitable as pets. If you take chicks of Bhat Shalik (Common myna) or parakeets, you can groom them up as talking birds." 

"I am a novice. How would I find chicks and how can I take care of them? They will die," this correspondent asked them.

Like an expert, Robiul assured me that I would not have to worry about the chicks. 

"We collect the hatchlings and take care of them until they grow to be nestlings, and even as fledglings. We can feed the chicks with the help of a syringe," Robiul said. 

When we enquired about the price and the route to transport the consignment outside the garden, Nayeem said, "We take whatever amount of money a buyer pays happily. If you buy the chicks, we will deliver them to you outside the garden. Don't worry." 

We told him we were not prepared to purchase chicks right at that moment and Nayeem shared his contact number for a future deal. 

The teenagers have profound knowledge about the mating and breeding periods of different birds. 

This illegal trade of bird chicks is not very profitable. But some local teenagers do this to momentarily profit off the thirst of certain buyers who cherish owning talking birds. In most cases, the stolen chicks do not survive. 

However, wildlife theft from the 'protected' National Botanical Garden is indeed a matter of serious concern. 

When asked, security guards at the garden denied their involvement in the illegal trade.

Deputy Conservator of Forest, Mahmuda Roksena Sultana, also the director of National Botanical Garden, said she has been deployed in her post very recently. 

"It is my responsibility to check any kind of wildlife related crimes in the garden. I will investigate the matter and stop it for sure," Mahmuda said.