It had been a few months since the Sambhar lake tragedy. I still vividly remember the day on the lower berth of a train, as I looked out of the train window. I let out a tiny shriek and muttered “black winged stilt” as I recognized a familiar bird out in the swamps next to the tracks, like a wide-eyed child who had spotted her favourite candy. The scenery soon changed with the rhythmic beats of the train switching its tracks, but the memory of that bird remained.

My first sighting of this species was my first day at the Phulera nursery where our animal rescue team had set up a temporary shelter for the treatment and rehabilitation of distressed birds. There it was, together with fellow avian travellers, paralysed and gasping for air. It was clear that veterinary intervention had to be done without any further delay. They were   stressed, diseased, 4000 kilometres away from their breeding grounds unable to take flight; the one thing that birds count on to escape danger.

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Pic Credits:Kirti Vyas

Seasonal migration, in birds, refers to the periodic transboundary movement of a species from one place to the other in search of resources or for breeding. Now one might question the need for an energy extensive voyage to the tropical regions just for some food or warmth. However, this energy investment of flying long distances has wonderful returns. A relatively warm Indian winter welcomes these birds with an environment plush with mosquitoes, flies, insect larvae and other avian delicacies. Large Wetlands also have a social value as staging and feeding grounds for   congregational gatherings of these migrants. This was a role fulfilled by Sambhar lake, Rajasthan for the longest time. Until this year…

Avian botulism is caused by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum that produces a toxin. This bacterium reproduces through spores that remain dormant in water bodies under normal aerobic conditions. In Sambhar, it slowly concentrated in microscopic aquatic organisms that filter feed sediments or water. When birds at Sambhar ate the organisms, the toxin accumulated in their bodies. This year, climate change led to an increased rainfall, thereby increasing groundwater level, which reached the lake brim. This along with other anthropogenic factors led to the proliferation of the bacteria in Sambhar lake.

It was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Many scientists, environmentalists and even locals had seen the changes in the wetland over the course of the few years. The growing need for water in the catchment region of the lake led to the construction of dams, thereby disrupting natural water inflow. Moreover, illegal salt mining altered the pH and microbiological ecology of the lake. Scientists even recommended a geochemical study to understand the repercussions of such changes. However, these recommendations were left unheeded, lost somewhere in the system.

Birds such as black winged stilts, pied avocets, Northern shovelers, common coots, common teals and even the teensy little Kentish Plovers were the refugees in our temporary facility at Kachorda. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) team, in collaboration with Hope & beyond, Raksha, Animal Husbandry Department and Forest Department committed over a month of full time strenuous efforts to ensure the treatment of as many of the admitted birds as could be treated and released safely. Timely intervention resulted in many of them responding to the treatment.

The team began work on 12^th November 2019; with the shelter almost inundated with distressed, sick birds. At that stage, all stakeholder was unprepared and shocked by the sheer admissions every day. Pooling in resources and through the help of HCL foundation, the Phulera nursery was converted to a fully functional avian hospital with triage and necessary equipment. Overnight the team grew with more helping hands on deck. Vets came in from not only WTI but across the country to help save the birds. An incident command system that allowed for delegation of work across the team was established. All volunteers were briefed on the protocols and best practices in handling and management of the birds.

The team awakened with the birds at 6:30 am and often went to bed by 12-1 am after wrapping up the tasks at the shelter. Perpetual physical and mental exhaustion during those days resulted in me seeing birds everywhere. During my rescue work, of course I was with them. But even during the breaks, during transit, I would often imagine a bird in the silhouette of a log, in the shadow cast on the wall at night, everywhere. The symptoms these birds had were gruesome to watch. One could only imagine what the creatures were going through. To comprehend this, one has to know what happens to the birds as the toxin starts to affect their body. It first aims for motor functions, so the wings are affected. Once the toxin has established dominance by disallowing the bird to fly, it is left to the mercy of this bacterium. Slowly, the toxicity increases leading to further paralysis of the limbs, at this stage the bird cannot relocate even if it sees a predator around.

Worse is when a crow approaches the bird. The crow is hungry and it has spotted some easy food. It will attempt to approach the bird, judging by its cognisance, and calculatedly aim for the tail flesh of the paralysed bird. We received many such birds, which were eaten alive, preyed on while they helplessly awaited death. I remember thinking about 127 Hours, the movie. The parallel between the protagonist and his will to survive was just as stark as the bird’s sheer tenacity to live on. It was a hopeful tale to watch unfold.

With the Thirteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals being held in Gandhinagar, WTI recognized an opportunity to voice the threats faced by these birds in a side event during the convention. When the theme of the conference is ‘Migratory species connect the planet and together we welcome them home’, one’s blood does boil upon seeing the injustice done to over 20,000 of these guests. Just like humans, animals do not plan for their vacations to go horribly wrong. In such matters, it is crucial for stakeholders to recognize their roles and join hands to help save these beings, to avoid any wildlife refugee crisis in the future.

The teams safely treated over 1200 birds. Of these, we released 514 during this rescue We cannot predict if this incident will change the migratory behaviour or breeding grounds of the birds, however, if they do ever face this problem again, we will be prepared.

About the author:  If not found in your nearest climbing gym, Aradhana Singh will be scaling the Himalayas or diving to the depths of the ocean in search of all that remains wild. Contact her at  po.wildrescue@wti.org.in