Assam: Six Exotic Black Palm Cockatoos Rescued In Cachar, Smugglers Escape

Assam Police said efforts were on to nab the smugglers and the wildlife trafficking racket had international links.

The exotic birds were rescued from a vehicle during a 'naka' check on Saturday ( Image Source :Pallav Bora )

Six exotic palm cockatoos, also known as goliath cockatoo or great black cockatoo, were rescued by Assam Police from Dholai in Cachar district along the Assam-Mizoram inter-state border. The exotic birds were rescued from a vehicle during a "naka" check on Saturday. However, the smugglers managed to escape.  

The palm cockatoo is a large smoky-grey or black parrot that inhabits rainforests and woodlands of New Guinea, Ari Islands and northern Cape York Peninsula.

The police handed over the birds to the forest department. The birds are currently being treated and will be shifted to the Assam State Zoo and Botanical Garden in Guwahati.

Cachar Superintendent of Police (SP) Numal Mahatta told ABP Live that efforts were on to nab the smugglers and the racket had international links.

"Our patrolling team noticed a vehicle with suspicious movement at a remote location in Dholai Khal. While approaching the vehicle, the occupants fled and we recovered the birds. The recovery was made along the Assam Mizoram inter-state border. We have sought help of the Mizoram police as the recovery was made in the bordering area with the state. Similar recoveries were made by the Mizoram police in Kolasib district of the state in the past," the Cachar SP said. 

"Efforts are on to apprehend the smugglers. It is the handiwork of an international wildlife trafficking racket," SP Mahatta further said.

Wildlife activists said despite best efforts by the law enforcement agencies, smuggling of exotic and endangered animals to India from neighbouring Myanmar continues unabated through the porous borders of Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura and Assam.

These exotic animals are first smuggled to Myanmar from other countries and then brought to India through these states.

Wildlife trafficking has become a routine affair in the past few years and makes their way to Western and Southern India through these Northeastern states. These exotic animals finally end up in private zoos owned by some business tycoons.  

Wildlife activists say that the recent recovery of exotic animals from different states of the region is a worrying factor as these animals are smuggled illegally without any health screening which has the potential to spread zoonotic diseases in the country.  

On October 15, 2022, Mizoram police and forest department officials rescued 138 exotic animals from Champhai district, in one of the biggest hauls of smuggled exotic animals in recent years.

The rescued animals included 55 crocodile hatchlings, 22 pythons, 30 tortoises, 18 Sumatran water monitors, four serval cats, two marmosets, four flame bowerbirds and an albino wallaby. 

In September 2022, 41 exotic animals, including reptiles and birds, were rescued from two luxury vehicles at Assam's Kamrup district. Investigation revealed that these animals were smuggled from Myanmar through Mizoram.