With Dasara approaching, Telangana’s forest department and wildlife conservation groups are stepping up efforts to curb poaching of the Indian Roller, or Palapitta. Officials plan meetings with departments and stakeholders, while rescued birds will be released into the wild.
Wildlife experts have called on the Telangana government to protect the Indian Roller, the State bird, following its inclusion on the IUCN Red List. They highlighted threats from poaching, habitat loss, and pesticide use, urging stronger conservation and legal measures.
The Indian Roller, or palapitta, Telangana’s state bird, has been moved to the ‘Near Threatened’ category on the IUCN Red List following a sharp population decline. The State of Indian Birds–2023 report and recent Hyderabad Bird Atlas survey highlight the species’ alarming drop.
Despite repeated warnings, poaching and rituals during Dasara have endangered Telangana’s State bird, the Palapitta, as hundreds were caged or tied for display. NGOs rescued a few, but enforcement remains weak even as the species faces alarming population decline.
Members of the Greater Hyderabad Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rescued six Indian Roller birds at four spots across Hyderabad. The birds will be released back to nature once they recover, they said
The Palapitta usually nests in tree holes and feeds on insects. Due to the indiscriminate felling of trees and lack of food, the bird appears to be moving away from the State capital
The Congress leader, along with his family, held the birds inappropriately to display them to citizens in violation of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
