What started in 2003 with the rescue of a lone black kite turned into a complete mission 20 years later to rescue and restore a bird of prey or raptor. Wildlife Rescue, founded by brothers Nadeem Shehzad and Muhammad Saud, has been involved in more than 23,000 raptor and bird rescues since registering the organization in 2010.

The work and selfless commitment of the two brothers to save Derry’s Black Kite and other birds of prey is honored in filmmaker Shaunak Sen’s documentary All That Breathes, which was awarded at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival World Documentary Awards Jury Prize.

A loud whistle welcomes you as you enter the vicinity of the Bird Rehabilitation Centre, located on the roof of an unassuming residential building in Wazirabad, North Delhi. At any given time, the roofs that have been converted into flight cages are home to at least 100 birds of prey, most of them black kites. The top of the cage is open for birds that have recovered enough to fly out on their own. The building is also home to one of the brothers, whose family lives on the floors below this rehab center. The adjoining building houses a clinic and intensive care unit.

Nineteen rescues were reported today, including a barn owl with a broken wing. Saud sits at the operating table, providing first aid to a groggy black kite. It suffers from wounds caused by manjas (threads made of nylon or cotton and coated with glass powder) used for kite flying. The bird will later be operated on by a veterinarian who works part-time with the team.

Most bird hospitals in Delhi are run by Jain temples. As a result, raptors were ineligible for treatment due to their dietary needs for meat. “We save raptors and waterbirds, most of which are carnivores, from being treated at the Jain Charity Bird Hospital. Only one other center, Wildlife SOS, provides them with the diets they need,” Shehzad said.

In 2017, the Delhi government banned the use of glass coating lines or Chinese Manja across the board. However, most of the injuries were reportedly caused by Manja. “We’ve been studying the damage done to birds during kite flying season. The manja wound is so severe that it cuts through tendons, muscles and even bone. The wound looks like it’s been cut with a scalpel. In this case, the main The concern is how to get the bird airborne again? It’s tricky and the surgery requires extreme precision,” Shehzad said.

Over the years, with the help of other veterinarians and human physicians, the team has conducted extensive research into repairing such injuries with in-house veterinarians. “We pioneered a new way to repair this type of injury. We even presented it at the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association (NWRA) in 2018, one of the largest annual wildlife conferences in Los Angeles,” Shehzad said.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times