What the bird, locally known as 'Teesa', was forced to undergo was inhuman. Though it is yet to be proved, the may have been caught by some elements who tied leather belts to its legs so that it doesn't escape. After managing to extricate itself, the bird landed on the tree where it got entangled and was struggling to free itself for more than 20 hours.
"We first noticed the bird struggling to free itself around 4pm on Tuesday. We brought it to the notice of Prashant Taksande, owner of the house where the huge Nilgiri tree is located, but he did not take note of it immediately," said Hemlata Ramojiwar, a resident of housing board colony in Chandan Nagar near Untkhana.
The buzzard was at an height of over 50 feet and residents couldn't identify it properly. They thought it to be an eagle chick stuck up in manja (kite thread). The area is known for kite-flying and many children even skip school to enjoy it.
On Wednesday morning, Taksande called up sarpa mitra Jayant Khode. He, along with another snake friend Shrikant Ukey, rushed to the spot. Taksande had also called up Karishma Galani, city chief of People For Animals (PFA). Galani alerted the fire brigade personnel who too rushed to the spot.
Since the bird was beyond the reach of the fire brigade equipment, their personnel couldn't be of much help. At 11.30am, TOI found that Ukey and Khode were struggling to free the bird from the second floor terrace with the help of a hook fixed to a long bamboo pole. Bird friend Damodar Dharmale also came to help them.
The duo somehow managed to cut the branch after some strained efforts. Ukey and Khode wanted to catch the bird and free it of the long belts, but as the branch fell, the buzzard flew away, with the belts hanging to its feet, to a pipal tree nearby.
Ukey didn't give up but, when he approached pipal tree, the bird flew away into the adjoining Home for Aged premises. Till 1.30pm, Ukey and Khode strived to catch the bird but in vain.
"The bird is completely exhausted flying with great difficulty due to the weighty belts. It must still be in the premises. I've asked my friends in the area to keep a watch. The bird will survive only if the belts are removed," Ukey told TOI.
Bird expert Raju Kasambe, who works with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in Mumbai, says rescuing the bird will be a difficult task but needs to be done. "The belts in its legs show that it must have been caught by some elements for training to hunt birds and rabbits. Such practice is know as falconry, which is banned in India. In Arab countries they still train such birds," he said.
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