Statewide Zoo Alert on Crow Deaths

…Earlier, tests at Jamshedpur — considered to be the epicentre of crow deaths — revealed conflicting results. National Institute of Virology, Pune, drew a blank, the state animal husbandry department dithered about citing a specific virus and Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly said H5N1, one of the deadliest avian virus strains, was the culprit.

…the fear about human threat and possible pandemic is running high. …a bulletin of World Health Organisation says the worry is overrated.

Environment bodies, zoo authorities and ornithologists are deliberating on four main angles — the exact reason behind deaths, human and animal peril, the magnitude of dwindling numbers and finally, long-term ecological impact if the bird becomes endangered.

Ecologically, it hints towards a major imbalance.

If a study conducted by Jamshedpur ornithologist K.K. Sharma — who first sounded the alarm on the deaths — is to be believed, Jharkhand had around 50,000 house crows, but in just three months, the numbers are 40 per cent down.

Sharma said …he was sceptical about H5N1 virus as the cause.

“In the case of vultures, too, everyone spoke about a virus scare. With 1 per cent of vultures left, we realised that diclofenac, used to treat cattle, is behind the deaths,” he said.

He said crows were winging behind vultures and eagles to oblivion.

Crows: Friends of Man

Wildlife activist D.S. Srivastava said crows were friends of man. “They are scavengers who clean up pathogens from garbage near homes, protecting children and elderly who have less immunity,”…

I don't understand how crows dieing in India is personal.

Originally posted by soficrow
reply to post by TsukiLunar

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I don't understand how crows dieing in India is personal.

It's a joke. ....

My name is sofi CROW.

NCDC team advises health officials how to fight H5N1 virus

JAMSHEDPUR: A four-member team from the National Communicable Disease Centre (NCDC) Delhi on Saturday trained health officials on how human and poultry products could be protected from contagious disease with research reports concluding that H5N1 virus was behind the abnormal rise in the death of crows in the Steel City.

Crow death specter spreads to Jajpur

Sudhanshu Parida, an environmentalist and the secretary of the district unit of People for Animals, which deals with environmental issues, on Thursday demanded a scientific study to find out the reason behind the spate of crow deaths in the state. Besides bird flu, various other factors like radiation from mobile phone towers, exposure to cold and other diseases could also be responsible for the crow deaths, Parida said.

He also stressed on the need to study behavioural pattern of the birds like where they build their nests, their eating habits and issues like pollution and the depleting green cover.