Srinagar, June 13: Kashmir’s lone state-of-the-art wildlife hospital that started functioning earlier this year has been treating different species of wild animals and birds that are injured in man-animal conflicts and other reasons in the valley.
The Wildlife Research Cum Healthcare Centre located at Dachigam National Park in Srinagar has been receiving different species of wild birds and animals that get the best treatment and even surgeries of serious animals are conducted.
Dr Mohsin, wildlife veterinarian at the Dachigam National Park said the hospital receives different types of wild animals and wild birds who suffer injuries in different situations.
“We get animals and birds like aquatic wild kites and animals Himalayan Goral, mallard, porcupine, common leopard and wild bear. We receive them with different deformities and disorders like electric shock, injuries and ailments and they get treatment there,” he said.
Secondly, they also receive the common leopards that are wounded in man-animal conflicts and accidental injuries. “We also received the bear cubs and monkeys as they make their way from forest areas to human habitations and suffer injuries,” he said.
Dr Mohsin said five days ago the hospital released a porcupine that had suffered multiple injuries throughout the body in the man-animal conflict and was not eating anything for few days. “We monitored his movements and the only then he release was planned,” he said.
Furthermore, the wild hospital also receives the wild animals for post-mortem examination that are majorly poaching cases of birds or scheduled animals and accidental deaths.
“There are different animals that have different issues. We give them fluid therapy, medication and accordingly we give them further treatment and rehabilitate them,” he said.
Dr Mohsin said many such animals have been rehabilitated after successful treatment at the newly established hospital.
The doctor said the hospital is equipped with all the high-end facilities like USG, theatre, surgery department for the wild animals. “Surgical interventions are also done in cases where such an intervention is needed,” he said.
He also said that sometimes they also receive wild animals (female) and they are not sure whether they are pregnant or not and they do the USG and accordingly treat them.
Hospital has become a research centre as DNA of the animals is extracted for the preservation of gene banks to keep it for research purposes for the future.
Dr Mohsin said the research centre serves as a DNA bank, which will help in forensics and allied activities of conservation projects.
“There are several animals who have reached to extinction or endangered stage. So many schools, colleges, researchers come here for training and research purposes. We give them hands-on training about the basics of the wild animal hospital,” he said.
On the other side whenever there is any man–animal conflict, the team of the hospital is sent to the spot and rescue the animals and safeguard their health.
“Once the animals are physically fit then only we send them back to their habitat. The animals are sent to the nearby Dachigam and Pahalgam and other nearby rescue centres,” the wildlife veterinarian said.
