The rare black-necked stork, which was rescued two days ago with its beak jammed by a rubber ring around it, was released on Friday.
The bird, which was rescued by a team of Haryana Wildlife Department near Najagarh Jheel (basin) at Dhankot village, was released at Sultanpur National Park. It was kept under observation in a makeshift cage for two days after being rescued.
Haryana Forest Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Haryana, Anil Kumar Hooda were present. The forest department officials and individuals involved in the rescue operation were also felicitated on the occasion.
The veterinarian attending the stork said that the bird was doing well and had fish and water over the past two days. The birders and environmentalists present at the event demanded that the Basai where the bird was first spotted with the rubber ring be declared the wetland.
The bird was first spotted by photographer Manoj Nayar in Basai on June 7 after which the Harayana Forest Department teams along with the birders and non-government organisations scanned the wetlands in the National Capital Region in it's search for five days.
Many methods such as camouflage, drone and bamboo traps were used to catch the bird, but they failed to bear any result. Finally, the rescue team chased it for two kilometres near Najafgarh Jheel on Wednesday and caught it.
