Take care, birds and animals drop dead in #Delhi

NEW DELHI: It’s not just humans, even birds and animals in the city are bearing the brunt of the rising mercury level. The number of heat-related complaints at Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre (SGACC) has gone up by 50%, according to hospital staff.

Birds are the worst affected with some dropping dead or collapsing and falling on the ground due to the scorching sun and dehydration. The animal centre claims to have received a number of complaints of dogs collapsing due to kidney failures and monkeys dying of heatstrokes. Members of People for Animals (PFA) have appealed to people to keep a bowl of water on their balconies or outside the house for birds and stray animals.

Delhi forest department officials said there had been no report of any death due to heat yet at the Asola wildlife sanctuary. The staff were directed to fill up all water bodies and provide grains for peacocks and other birds in the sanctuary. Residents living near Mangar Bani, a sacred forest grove off the Gurgaon-Faridabad highway, said a leopard met with an accident earlier this month near the highway. “The animals are straying out of the jungle in search of water. The ponds and other water bodies have completely dried up,” said Sunil Harsana, a villager.