Kota, March 20 The carcasses of 12 peacocks, ranging from two to seven days old, were found in the buffer zone of the Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve in the Indergarh range of the Bundi district on Friday afternoon. Officials suspect that a disease may have caused the deaths.
Meanwhile, seven turtles were found dead at the bank of a water body near the Dodi village in the area under the jurisdiction of the tiger reserve, near the Bansi forest checkpost, on Friday.
The peacock, the national bird, is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which provides the highest level of legal protection in India. Turtles are also highly protected under the Act, with many species listed under Schedule I and Schedule IV.
Locals in the Kolaspura village, in the buffer area of the Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve (RVTR), reported finding peacock carcasses near the Bheruji temple. A forest department team rushed to the spot and recovered the remains of at least 12 peacocks.
Assistant Conservator of Forest (RVTR) Shourabh Mangal said that the carcasses of 12 peacocks, including seven males and five females, were recovered from the buffer area of the tiger reserve in the Indergarh range.
The exact cause of death will only be determined after the post-mortem report is received. However, the official said that no evidence of illegal hunting or poisoning of the peacocks was found at the scene.
The carcasses were disposed of according to established norms after a post-mortem by a medical board at Indergarh. The report is awaited.
Dr Kavita, a member of the medical board that conducted the post-mortem, said that the peacock carcasses are two to seven days old, suggesting that they died at different times at the same location.
Some of the carcasses indicated death due to disease, but the cause of death will be determined by the sample report, which is awaited, she said.
Samples have been collected and will be sent to a laboratory for examination.
Meanwhile, wildlife activist Vitthal Sanadhya alleged that forest officials did not respond to the report of peacock carcasses in the RVTR buffer zone and initially attributed the matter to the Swami Madhopur jurisdiction.
In a separate incident, seven turtles – four females and three males – were found dead at the bank of a water body near Dodi village in the area under the jurisdiction of the RVTR.
Prima facie, the turtles died due to suffocation, said Dr Narendra, a member of the medical board that conducted the post-mortem of the carcasses.
Villagers reported finding seven turtles lying dead on the bank of the water body, Dayaram, the in-charge of the Bansi checkpost, said.