When senior citizens aided forest dept personnel rescue an injured lesser whistling duck in Chennai

CHENNAI: On Monday evening, as the city started bursting the leftover Diwali firecrackers, a lesser whistling duck hit a multi-storey building in T Nagar and fell on the ground. The brown and chestnut-coloured bird lost its flight after a few feathers of a wing were damaged.Someone lifted the bird and tried to make it airborne again. It flew some metres and hit a nearby apartment building. It perched on the sunshade of the first-floor apartment looking at the fireworks-lit sky, perhaps in the direction its flock had flown away. The species is commonly found near lakes and paddy fields in the country, and it flies slowly with rapid wing-flapping and produces whistling while flying.Rescuing the bird from the sunshade was not easy. Someone suggested seeking the help of the forest department.There were not many staffers at the Velachery forest office on Monday night. But two forest staff members came with a cage. They went to the apartment. The purpose was to reach the sunshade from the balcony of the second-floor apartment. But the house was locked.They tried their luck in two neighbouring apartments. Two senior citizens, who opened the doors, initially suspected the strangers. But they became enthused on hearing the purpose of the visit.The occupant on the first floor opened the balcony. One of the forest department personnel tried to reach the sunshade from there. The commotion disturbed the duck, which flew, hit the next building, fell on the ground and again tried to soar, only to hit a nearby villa and fall in the backyard.Rescuing the bird from the villa’s backyard appeared more difficult as the security guard wouldn’t let the forest personnel in. The guard telephoned the house owner. The house owner, a senior citizen, came walking slowly. On learning the purpose, he asked the guard to open the gate of the backyard.The bird resisted rescue, but ultimately it yielded and found itself comfortable in the cage.The bird was bleeding. But forest department personnel Tilak Masco and Lawrence said, “It will survive.”The bird is under treatment in the veterinary clinic at Guindy Children’s Park. “Once it is cured and able to fly, it will be released near a lake,” Tilak said on Tuesday afternoon.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Chennai | Silver Rate in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Petrol Price in Chennai | Diesel Price in Chennai | CNG Price in Chennai | LPG Price in ChennaiStay updated with the latest Chennai news. Download the TOI App.