From Now on, Foreign Birds too will Chirp at Pilikula
 
Prakash Samaga
Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore
 
Mangalore, Jun 14: From now on, visitors to Pilikula Dr Shivaram Karanth Biological Park will be stunned to hear the tweets of foreign birds. With the arrival of the new guests, a good number of bird lovers are also enthusiastically thronging the park.

Birds of South America, Africa and Australia, namely blue gold macaw, green-winged macaw, Galah-Cockatto, Sun Conure, rose-ringed parakeet, citron cockatoo, channel billed toucan, African grey, in all more than 20 foreign birds of 8 species have been donated by a person from Mangalore, whose name has not been disclosed. Each bird costs Rs 2 to 3 lac.
 
Speaking to daijiworld, H Jayaprakash Bhandary, director, Pilikula Biological Park said that this was the first ever appearance of foreign birds in the park. Ostrich, kiwi among other birds will arrive soon. The foreign birds and birds of Western Ghats are kept in a separate enclosed space. They are open for public viewing.

He further said that the park housed 620 animals of 77 different species, but visitors felt that there was a dearth of birds. Hence the new guests have fulfilled the desire of visitors, he said.
 
He also said that as children are mainly fond of birds, collection of more birds (including aquatic ones) is their plans for the near future. Not only this, very soon hippopotamus and wild buffalo will also be brought to the park, he said.
 
There are more than 150 snakes of 27 different species in this biological park. Those animals that are wounded and rescued are brought here, and after the necessary medical treatment at the wild animal clinic located in the park, they are freed into the national reserved forest. Those which are not poisonous are kept permanently for public viewing. So far, as many as 1,000 such snakes have been freed into the forest, he noted.