Rare eagle owl falls victim to nylon manja

NASHIK: Days after two rock doves in the city were found injured by the nylon manja on Makar Sankranti, an eagle owl lost its life due to the thread.
A few days back, the nylon manja of a kite claimed the life of an eagle owl, a rare owl species, which was found entangled with the thread from a tree on Satpur-Ambad Link Road.
The incident came to light after some local residents informed animal rescuers about the rare owl on Saturday.The owl was found dead by the residents.
Despite several people and animals becoming casualties and victims to nylon manja, not many have refrained from using the thread. The animal rescuers said that the use of nylon manja has failed to decrease despite a ban on it.
“Barn owl is a common sight in the city but an eagle owl is a rare sighting here. The bird is much bigger in size than a barn owl. But, the nylon manja had injured the bird badly. It was found hanging on a tree at Satpur-Ambad Link Road and was covered with the manja,” said Abhijeet Mahale, an animal rescuer and part of Eco Echo Foundation.
This is not the first time that animals have been a victim to human actions. On Monday, the animal rescuers got another call from local residents near Waldevi dam about a Russell’s Viper that was found entangled in a fishing net and was struggling for life. The net has started to tighten around the heart of the snake.
“The viper was entangled in the fishing net since Sunday. Some local people noticed it near the bank and picked it up along with the net. The helped the snake up with a stick and one of the residents took it home. They called us to rescue the snake,” said Abhijeet. The snake is fine now and will be released soon with the help of the forest department.