Metro halted to rescue bird from track

New Delhi: Metro services on the Magenta Line were temporarily halted on Sunday when an Indian Cormorant collapsed on the Metro tracks at the Kalindi Kunj Metro station.

The Indian Cormorant escaped a narrow brush with death after collapsing on the Metro tracks. One of the train operators saw the bird on the tracks, which was reportedly struggling to fly, and called NGO Wildlife SOS for its rescue.

The Metro services on the line (part of the Delhi Metro Phase 3) were temporarily halted while two rescuers went down to the tracks to carry out the rescue operation. They shifted the distressed bird to a transport container and rushed it to their recovery facility.

The Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscicollis) is found mainly along the inland waters of the Indian subcontinent and extending to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. They inhabit ponds, lakes, streams, mangroves, and wetlands and feed mainly on fish. They make short dives into the water to catch fish and often forage in groups. Kartick Satyanarayan, the co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said: “We are grateful to the DMRC authorities for their cooperation. This indicates a high level of compassion on their part and sets an example for many others to follow. We believe the cormorant had wandered out of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, which is located close by.”

“The cormorant is under observation to ensure it recuperates safely from the ordeal. Over the years, Wildlife SOS has carried out several wildlife rescues from various Metro stations across Delhi-NCR. In August, we rescued a red sand boa from the Shahdara Metro station,” said Wasim Akram, the manager of Wildlife SOS Special Projects.