Hyderabad: Peacock dies on road

Hyderabad: A peacock was found dead by motorists and pedestrians on the road at S.R. Nagar at about 1 pm on Friday.

According to officials of the forest department, who received information of the peacock’s carcass from the police, sound pollution could have claimed the bird’s life. They suspect that the bird could have died of a cardiac arrest on hearing a loud sound.

“The pace of the heart beat in a peacock or peafowl is very high. They get jittery around loud sounds. The bird must have died of a cardiac arrest because a motorist would’ve honked loudly. We can say this because there were no injury marks on the body,” said forest range officer, Ramesh Kumar Tirumala, who also works with the anti-poaching wing of the department.

According to experts like Chelmala Srinivasulu, assistant professor, Department of Zoology, Osmania University: “Birds like peacocks usually prefer lush green environments as their habitats. It must have come out of its habitat to look for food.” Peacocks do not shy away from human interaction, he said.

“These birds are usually restricted to green areas, but, of late, they have begun to exploit smaller urban green spaces. So, people in places like SR Nagar, ESI Hospital and the Chest Hospital should not be surprised if they spot a fairly large bird crossing the road,” Prof Srinivasulu told Deccan Chronicle. While no census has been conducted by the government, there are said to be around 638 peacocks in the KBR Park in Jubilee Hills.

A paper authored by Vinay Kumar Sethi and Dinesh Bhatt says, ‘Indian peafows keep a distance from humans, but seem less affected by their presence.”

Incidentally, responding to a question raised in the Lok Sabha on Friday, MoS for Environment Babul Supriyo said peacocks are listed in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, according them the highest degree of

protection.