Mumbai: In a tragic incident, the bodies of over two dozen flamingos were found near Laxmi Nagar in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar East on Monday night, suspected to have died after being hit by a landing plane. The Forest Department, along with the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW), responded to distress calls from residents and discovered multiple flamingo carcasses scattered across different locations in Ghatkopar.
RAWW, an NGO dedicated to wildlife welfare, assisted the Mangrove Cell of the forest department in a search operation to recover the dead birds and check for any flamingos needing immediate rescue or medical assistance. The recovered carcasses will undergo a post-mortem examination to determine the precise cause of death.
This incident follows a series of similar occurrences involving flamingos in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Last month, the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) faced criticism after morning walkers in Navi Mumbai’s Nerul found 12 flamingos unconscious at the bank of DPS Lake. Seven of these flamingos subsequently died from their injuries.
Earlier in March, two flamingos were killed in Navi Mumbai—one collided with a CIDCO-installed signboard, and another was crushed by a speeding vehicle on Palm Beach Road.
Flamingos typically migrate to the wetlands of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region from November to May for feeding, traveling from breeding sites in Gujarat and Iran. The migration begins after the monsoons when water levels in breeding grounds start to recede. The recent spate of flamingo deaths raises concerns about the safety and conservation of these migratory birds in urban areas.
