Autopsy report awaited; activists raise demand to return remaining seven birds

MUMBAI: Less than three months after the civic body brought eight Humboldt Penguins to Byculla zoo from Seoul, ignoring warnings and protest letters from animal rights activists, one of the birds died on Sunday after a week-long illness.

Zoo officials said the cause of death could not be ascertained and that they would await the post-mortem report. Activists said the zoo should make arrangements to return the remaining penguins to save them.

Eight Humboldt Penguins — three male and five female — were brought from Coex Aquarium at Seoul, South Korea, to Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo (commonly known as Byculla zoo) on July 26.

The purchase was part of a multi-crore project that included funds for setting up a special temperature-controlled enclosure for them. Money was reportedly earmarked for their maintenance for the next five years.

A release issued on Sunday by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said a female Humboldt Penguin, weighing about three kg., looked dull and unwell. A vet who had had experience handling Humboldt Penguins during a stint in New Zealand examined the bird and diagnostic tests were carried out and appropriate treatment started. But the bird did not respond to the treatment and subsequent tests showed elevated liver values. An exotic bird specialist was also consulted and treatment modified, but the bird did not respond to any treatment and died on Sunday morning. The post-mortem was carried out at Mumbai Veterinary College in Parel. “The other seven Humboldt Penguins are healthy and under constant observation,” the release said.

The BMC said the birds were kept in a quarantine facility at the zoo where the temperature is maintained as per international standards between 16 and 18 degree Celsius.

Activists, however, said the zoo did not have the proper wherewithal to handle these birds and had no reason to bring them to Mumbai in the first place. “We had objected to getting penguins even when it was proposed pointing out that the Mumbai climate is not suitable for these birds,” said Sunish Subramanian, secretary, Plant and Animals Welfare Society, Mumbai.

He alleged that even though the birds were quarantined, certain people were allowed to enter, and that the caretaking staff were not technically equipped to handle them. The remaining birds should be returned so that they don’t meet a similar fate, he added.