Trained eagle caught by BSF along Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan dies

Sources said that the eagle with a numbered ring tied to its legs was caught by the BSF on Wednesday. However, the bird died soon after the BSF personnel handed it over to the local Forest Department.

Jaisalmer:The trained eagle which was caught by the Border Security Force on Wednesday with a GPS tracker tied to its legs along the Indo-Pak border in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan has died after being handed over to the Forest Department, official sources said. Sources said that the bird died after being caught by the BSF personnel and was handed over to the local veterinary doctors for post-mortem.

An official said that the bird was seen flying from across the border into the Indian side triggering an alert among the alert BSF personnel. Noticing the suspicious flight of the bird along the strategic border, the BSF soldiers swung into action and swiftly caught the bird, said the official. He said that the bird was handed over to the forest department by the BSF personnel in an injured condition.

The bird died in the rescue center of the forest department, he added. Forest Department Ranger Kanvraj Singh said that the falcon bird within some time after the BSF handed it over to the Forest Department. The Forest Department team has reached the Government Veterinary Hospital with the bird where the cause of the death will be revealed only after post-mortem, the official said.

A ring has been found attached to the bird's legs bearing a mysterious number. While the BSF or the Forest Deparment did not reveal the origin of the bird, reports said that the falcon could be one among the many being used by the Arab Sheikhs, who are currently camping across the border for bird hunting. According to the reports, the royal Arab families use the trained eagles for hunting of Houbara bustard, locally known as Tilor.