Kaziranga, September 28, 2015: Two open billed stork fledgling were released by the CWRC MVS team at Rangalu Forest beat area of Kaziranga National Park on September 28, 2015. The fledglings were released in presence of the forest range officer of Burhapahar Range of Kaziranga NP. The area where the birds were released has dense tree cover and a wetland which is inhabited by storks.

On September 21, 2015, three fledglings were admitted to CWRC from Nagaon Forest division and out of them two recovered. These two were then released by the IFAW-WTI team. Earlier, the villagers had rescued these birds and handed them over to the forest officials. On September 20, 17 carcasses were found on the spot following a spell of heavy rains and thunderstorm.

Dr Panjit Basumatary, CWRC veterinarian, who inspected the storks, said, “These birds were screened for injuries and diseases. Post screening, they were kept under the watch of CWRC team for a week. Once the team was sure about their well-being, it was decided to release them back into the wild. Today, they were set free in presence of the Kaziranga forest authorities.”

Interestingly, once the fledglings were released from the cage, the birds took time to move, but later flew towards the wetland. The last remaining bird would be kept at CWRC for some more time before it is released too.