The catastrophic oil spill from the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) on the day Cyclone Michaung crossed Chennai forced thousands of inland migratory birds to move away from their habitats, breeding and roosting sites in Ennore in North Chennai. Spot-billed pelicans, shallow lowland freshwater large birds, and other aquatic animals and birds were adversely affected by the oil spill. Now, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has initiated a drive to rescue the oil-soaked pelicans from the waterbodies to remove the oil and treat them until they are ready to fly again.
The wildlife team comprising experts from Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary (BMAD), the Forest Department, and fishermen started the rescue operation in the Ennore area on December 15. They have successfully rescued seven pelicans to date. City residents have seen the birds on the Adyar and Cooum rivers and Pallikaranai marshlands. Several birds have been spotted in the Villupuram and Tiruppur districts too. The expert team suggested more such birds with oil can be seen in other waterbodies across the state since the pelican pods are scattered and they flew farther to safer habitats.
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Pelicans tend to migrate in large numbers and live in groups. After the oil leakage into Kosasthalayar and Buckingham Canal on December 4 from the CPCL facility in Manali in North Chennai, the pelican pods scattered. The fleets moved away from the Ennore habitats as the oil floating on the entire stretch from Buckingham Canal to the Ennore estuary severely damaged the aquatic ecosystem of the river. The birds on the waterbodies were affected as the floating oil was smeared on their bodies, their long beaks, and large throat pouches. Following the oil spill, different species of water birds could not hunt or fly away. They were dehydrated and weakened over the period.
Speaking to TNM, Chennai Wildlife Warden E Prasant said that the rough estimation of affected birds is anywhere between 50 to 70, and rescue operations are likely to be continued to ensure all the affected birds are captured and rehabilitated. “Several affected birds still have strong mobility, so when we try to catch them, they move away or fly. So it will take time to capture every affected bird,” he said
Nishant Ravi, a Chennai-based wildlife conservationist from Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary (BMAD), said around 40 to 45 birds were spotted in the Ennore stretch alone. He said the birds rescued from the river are being sent to Guindy National Park for the oil removal process and further treatment. “As of now, we have rescued birds that could not fly or move as oil clogged their feathers and hindered their movement,” Nishant said.
According to him, the rescue operations in the other parts of the city would not be as simple as Ennore Creek. “We have good water connectivity in this river, and the water level is also high. So it is much easier to deploy a small boat to reach the places to rescue the birds. But in Adyar and Cooum rivers, the areas where the birds were spotted are inaccessible,” he added.
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45 days of rehabilitation
Forest Department personnel and volunteers from BMAD remove the oil from the rescued birds using chemical-free mild detergents in Guindy Park. Sahithyan, a veterinarian from Tamil Nadu Forest Department, said they use vegetable oil and mild detergent in a 1:1 ratio and mix it with water and spray the liquid on pelicans. “After 20 minutes, we start to remove the oil. We repeat the process for several days to remove the oil completely,” he explained. The captured pelicans in the rehabilitation centre were found to be in poor health. “They were dehydrated and could not eat for the first two days. We gave Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) and force-fed fish broth. Now, a few birds have started to eat,” he said.
It is expected to take 30 to 45 days to release birds in packs into their habitats with favourable conditions. “We are planning to release ten birds in a pack. We will first release the birds in the small enclosure and later in the bigger enclosure to retain their characteristic instincts such as swimming, hunting and flying,” Nishant told TNM.
Oil-soaked birds spotted in Tiruppur and Villupuram
Oil-soaked birds were spotted in Nanjarayan Tank Bird Sanctuary and Kaliveli Lagoon wetlands in the Villupuram district. Volunteers from the Nature Society of Tiruppur spotted one spot-billed pelican in the Nanjarayan tank on December 30 and alerted the Forest Department. Nanjarayan Tank houses more than 150 spot-billed pelicans and is one of the most healthy habitats for pelicans to breed.
Ravindran Kamatchi, President of the Nature Society of Tiruppur, said the lone bird’s mobility was not affected by the oil spill. “The bird has covered some odd 500 km between Ennore and Tiruppur. But we cannot rule out the possibility of other unknown health-related issues of the bird. So we are closely monitoring the movement of the pelican,” Ravindran said, adding that the Forest Department personnel tried to rescue it earlier but it had eluded their attempts in the last four days.
Nishant said that the number of affected pelicans is higher in Ennore, so the expert team is primarily working in this area. “If bird numbers increase in the following week in Tiruppur, we will send another expert team for the rescue operation,” he said.
Are other aquatic birds affected?
Due to the man-made crisis, the pelicans were more adversely affected than other aquatic birds. According to experts, pelicans are large birds and most of the time, hunt in water bodies and have shorter legs with webbed feet. But the other birds such as painted storks, great egrets, and lesser storks – which also share the same habitats – have longer legs and feed on the banks and mangroves. "This is the only reason why we did not see any other aquatic bird species getting severely affected by this oil spill," Nishant said.
Many crabs, fish, and other species were found poisoned and washed up dead on the shores after the oil leakage. Of more than 70 affected birds of various species, only one Caspian tern has died. “We rescued the bird on December 20, but the bird did not survive even after the treatment,” Prasanth said.
Since it is Olive Ridley turtles' breeding season, many feared that an oil spill in the river and its further reach to the ocean would impact the nesting of turtles. “We cannot say that the oil spill alone disrupted the turtles' migration. It may be one of the many factors. But that too can be said after the migratory season based on how many turtles returned to their native shores and how many eggs were hatched,” Prasanth further noted. According to him, this year, turtle migration started very late. The first nesting was found on January 3 and 250 eggs were successfully retrieved from two nests to hatcheries.
Watch: Fishing community in Ennore struggles after oil spill in Ennore