Day later, mystery behind death of 58 crows unsolved

By Mehul Jani and Ruturaj Jadav
Posted On Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 02:21:12 AM

A day after 58 crows were found dead in Gandhinagar, their deaths still remain a mystery. The forest department had sent three carcasses to the Anand Government Laboratory for a detailed report.

The department was bewildered, when they came across 58 crows falling dead from a peepal tree at Sector 28 in Gandhinagar.

No abnormality has been found in the system of one of the carcasses during the post-mortem examination. However, the post-mortem report of the other two showed traces of infected food.

Superintendent of Kankaria Zoo Dr R K Sahu said, “Besides infected food, the birds could have dropped dead due to cold shock.”

“The mercury has plummeted in the past couple of days. This could result in cold shock, which causes blood circulation to stop, leading to death,” he added.

ANALA director Madhu Menon said, “Crows search for food in groups. As these crows have died at one spot within a few minutes, they might have eaten infected food or something poisonous.”

Conservationist Aditya Roy said, “One reason can be common disease or infection in this group. It has happened in the past in central India and south India. Huge number of vultures had died due to avian malaria in these two regions.”

Meanwhile, Conservator of Forest Anil Johri said, “We are waiting detailed reports from Anand to ascertain the reason behind the death of crows.”

Crows search for food in groups. As these crows have died at one spot within a few minutes, they might have eaten infected food or something poisonous

– Madhu Menon, ANALA director

http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2010011720100117022112467e4266c83/Day-later-mystery-behind-death-of-58-crows-unsolved.html
(Submitted by Caty Bergman)